


Despite All this, I still love you.

by LordDWH



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fanfiction, First Kiss, Kidnapping, Major character death - Freeform, Original Character(s), Out of Character, Red Dead Redemption 2 Spoilers, Romance, Slow Burn, Spoilers, Torture, Video Game: Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018), Violence, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 60,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27621917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordDWH/pseuds/LordDWH
Summary: He didn't need to go far. She was right by the fire with her back towards him. Nora didn't notice the door opening, her focus solely on the flickering flames in front of her.“How are you feeling?” At the sound she jumped. She turned around quickly with wide eyes, surprised and yet happy to finally see him again after so long.“I'm just happy to see you again, Fike.” She chuckled.“I'm happy to see you again, too.” He sank down to the floor with her, sitting just a few feet away. “God I was w-worried about you.”
Relationships: Lemuel Fike/Original Female Character(s), Lemuel Fike/Red Dead Online Protagonist, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 17





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr; https://norafike.tumblr.com/  
> I would really appreciate it if y'all could check this out too!

It took a day or more's journey to travel as far as Rhodes from the business she underwent back at Valentine. Even longer due to Maggie's distraction.

The female hitched her horse near the Gunsmith, noticing the unsettling silence that haunted the town. Nobody could be seen for miles and the store's looked empty whenever she peered through the windows inside. She wondered why Arthur sent the letter, requesting for her help, given that there was not a soul around.

“Hello?” She called out for nothing, expecting something to call back to her. Silence was met and so she decided to walk deeper, seeing where the men she was meant to meet lurked. “Arthur?.. Sean?”

She saw them eventually, hiding near a building all talking amongst themselves. She smiled at Sean and took a stand near him before whistling for her horse to trot on over to where they waited. She tethered him to the correct post, standing near. “How are you feelin' gentlemen?”

Micah snorted the minute she opened her mouth, gripping his gun belt and kicking his leg up onto a crate near to trap her between him and her animal. “Jus' fine, yourself?”

She tried not to visibly cringe once he spoke up, but could not help but scrunch up her nose in disgust. She used the tip of her finger to push him away. “I was doin' so much better before you started talkin', Mr. Bell.”

“I feel like we've gotten close enough, call me Micah.” He grinned and she had to bite her tongue to not snap back at him. “Of course, I'd like to know you.. a _little_ better.”

“A shame I'm gettin' to know Kieran a _little_ better first.” And Sean let out a roar of a laugh at her subtle way of dismissing his offer, this displeasing Micah enough that he left her alone.

"I am only kidding of course." She made it known so none of them would go ahead and tease the poor boy when they returned to camp, after all he was not considered highly amongst the group and the last thing he needed was someone taking her words the wrong way.

Micah snorted again before walking away from the female, ignoring her subtle giggles from behind and taking the lead with Sean on their walk into town. It had been far too quiet for Nora's liking before but now, while they were exposed like how they were.. well she felt more uneasy than ever. 

“None of it feels right.” She mumbled under her breathe, going unnoticed by the others. They talked before Arthur raised his voice over them, finally addressing the situation and repeating what Nora had said earlier. Sean turned around. “Now none of it feels right?” His accent was thicker here but before anyone had time to process what they were saying and shot rang out, setting them into ‘fighter’ mode. Nobody had noticed Sean, yet.

She covered her ears as she followed the men behind cover, finally taking a moment to compose herself and assess the situation. Here, she counted visible faces and let out a choked sob when she counted one short; Sean not being present. Nora faced Arthur, fear reflecting in his eyes and through a shaky voice managed to ask him the dreaded question. “Where's Sean?” He frowned; not asking and instead taking her deeper into the alley they hid in once the bullets to close to be comfortable. 

“We'll worry about Sean later.. are you okay to fight? I feel we got half the family after us.” She slowly nodded to answer. “Good.”

He ran out of the alley, both revolvers in hand and began to fire blindly down the road. She watched until he disappeared around the corner, taking a shaky breath she soon followed, her revolver in hand.

“Sean.” Her voice was small once she noticed the boy lying in the dirt, an unmistakable pool of blood around him and only growing. With the little strength she had left she managed to force herself into hiding behind a few crates, her vision growing more blurry from the tears that kept falling. She wasn't even trying to hit anything, only shooting behind her to make it seem as though she was helping but in reality she was only trying to not blackout as she always does. Her voice was called by an invisible creature, sounding similar to Lem but not quite her friend but it was familiar enough to feel safe.. she focused on it, it repeating one phrase over and over. ‘Come back to me, Nora.’ The very thing Lemuel had said that night with the flammable-moonshine explosion. It kept her distracted and it kept her awake..

“Stay low, girl.” Arthur seemingly appeared from nowhere, crouching by her side and shooting in any direction he heard bullets. He knew of what happened to Nora in situations like this, seeing it many times before and when the reality of Sean's fate kicked in the thought of preventing Nora's emerged. “I'm stayin' low. Make way to the General Store and sneak around the back through there, bastards are hidin' away where we can't see 'em.”

“And risk endin' up like Sean?”

“You can stay here, but I'm going. Prevent you lot endin' up like the kid.” With that she made haste over to the shop, ignoring Arthur's cries for her to run back. It was silent inside but that didn't mean she wasn't careful creeping through, her gun entering or leaving a room before she did at all times. She presumed that Micah and Bill dealt with a lot of the Gray's as the numbers were thinner now, but that didn't mean she didn't take out any herself.. feeling no guilt in doing so either.

“Bastards.” She cursed under her breath as she searched for the remaining bunch.. slowly finding one cowering behind a few barrels. He begged for his life, raising his hands in the air. She staggered for a moment, moving to holster her weapon and the man began to thank her for her “generousity” yet Sean had so much stripped away from him and she remembered it quickly. She put the gun away, opting for a more *satisfying kill and using her knife, she placed the steel against the man's neck and cut as deep as allowed. His blood ran down her hands, onto her lap and he fell lifeless.

She didn't notice the blood, didn't care for it.

* * *

“Where's Williamson?” She asked; met with silence from the two men who provided no answer.

“Well..?”

“We don't know, lady. Why, you gonna kill him too?” Micah spat and without thinking she lunged towards, gripping the lapels of his jacket and pushing him back. He made contact with the side of the wall, gasping with the wind knocked out of him and not expecting such a small woman to have this much strength, she was almost as feisty as Mrs. Adler and he admired her for it. “No, but I'll kill you asshole.” She shouted and finally Arthur stepped in, wrapping his arm around Nora and pulling her off of the antagonistic individual. 

“You're fucking crazy, woman.” Micah hadn't learned his lesson. 

“Enough!” Arthur yelled; scowling at the pair of them. “Let's find Bill and get out of here.”

“Whatever.” Nora grunted, walking past the men and back down towards the gunsmith. Arthur watched after her, maintaining a distance as he soon followed behind. She wasn't in any place to be alone right now and he knew it.

“Stop right there!” Sherrif Gray in his bitter tone called out, revolver pointed straight for Nora. She froze in her tracks and raised her hands, looking at the group with a fake smile. In some man's arms she noticed Bill and subtly pointed at him so Arthur could see.

The two finally joined her, Micah on her right and Arthur on her left so she stood perfectly in front of Leigh Gray. How she could spit at his name, a disgusting roach of a man she never had any liking for.. the killing of her only friend which he allowed being the final straw and so god help her she was going to make sure he got what he owed. “You gonna let our friend go, Leigh?”

“I plan on takin' you all in.. or killin' ya if need be.” He replied; his threat meeting deaf ears. She didn't care, couldn't find it within her. “That a threat..? Or a promise?” And Micah looked over astonished as she continued teasing him.

“I ain't playin' games girl-.” Leigh began, but Nora raised her hands to dismiss him. “Never said this was no game, jus' let my friend go.”

“Ain't gonna happen.”

“Very Well.” She was quick, just as skilled as Arthur and unexpecting. A few shots were fired and the Gray's fell, some falling off of the porch of the gunsmith and onto the roads.

Bill clambered forward, completely astonished but holding thanks he needed to pass on. He placed a sweaty palm on her shoulder, reluctantly muttering a quiet ‘thanks’ and walking away.

“Sean.” She cried before running over to the body. The thrill died down and reality kicked her in the face with a steel toe cap boot. Her friend really had been killed, his face disfigured and unrecognisable and her chest tightened when she saw him lying there, on the ground. Her brave face shrivelled and she let out sobs, earning an eye roll from Micah but a gentle pat regardless. “Bill, take the boy an' get him buried. I'm gonna ride with Nora back to camp, I don't think she should be alone.”

She chuckled at Arthur's instruction, despite there being no humour behind it. “I'm twenty-four. I can look after myself.”

“Trust me, I know that. I've seen it.” He replied with a light smile. “Jus' need an excuse for me not to be seen alone cryin'.” She laughed as he tried to lighten the situation, there was no time for mourning.

“Come on, let's get you out of here.”

She managed to wipe away a small tear, following him over to Casper and climbing into the saddle without fail despite an ache in her muscles slowly kicking in. Everything coming down and having an effect. “Thank you.” She managed to whisper, following Arthur out of the town.

“It ain't nothin'.”


	2. Chapter 2

"Berry Cobbler." She answered, placing down her cards in a huff as she counted higher then twenty-one. Lem let out a cheer at his winnings, pushing the stack of money on his end of the table.

Nora rolled her eye's before adding a final dollar bill to the pile, calling this her last bet as she did not want to lose all her money to a game of blackjack in one night.

"And you?" She asked him. Lem thought it over, the question really being that of his own when he asked 'what your favourite flavour of 'Shine is.' having not been one to drink too much of the stuff he had no proper answer, or maybe, he had one.

"Berry Mint."

"The Berry one's are usually the nicest." She answered back, eyeing the increasing pile of money in front of her as she added another card to her pile from the deck.

She held her breath as she eyed the number, letting it out as it had not yet hit twenty-one which didn't go unnoticed by Lem. He raised a brow and deciding to play with her a bit, added a little more money from his end just to be cocky.

Marcel hummed in the background, a gentle tune that reminded Nora of an old lullaby she used to hear from her mother when she was a young babe.

Marcel grew to interested in his humming that he paid no attention to where he was walking and ended up knocking a bottle of rum off of his work table, the smashing of the glass ringing in her ears.

She stood upright, facing him as he hurried to clean the mess. But her sudden movement didn't go unnoticed by the Frenchman.

"I am sorry, Nora." He apologised, waving his hand in the air at her. "I was no paying attention."

She bit onto her tongue and nodded slowly, closing her eyes and breathing deeply as she slowly sat back down at the table. Lem kept his eyes on her, reaching forward to take her hand.

He knew not to do it so forwardly, instead using his fingertips to touch her own and if she would recoil her hand then he would leave it, but she didn't and so slowly he took hold.

"I should apologise, I ain't sure what happened." Her voice was quiet and she looked down towards the ground, as if being scolded for bad behaviour and Marcel could only manage to give her a sympathetic look as he had no idea of how to react in the situation.

"Don't apologise." Lem whispered towards her and slowly she nodded.

"I'm going to go for a walk.. get some fresh air." She announced soon and gently she pulled her hand away from Lem's grasp, rising out of her chair and up the stairs from the basement.

Marcel waited for the door to close behind her before he turned on his heel to address Lem.

"Please go make sure that Miss Morgan is okay, I worry about her. She's only acting more stranger."

Lem nodded. "She's scared, I seen it when I was in prison, but I ain't never seen it so bad."

Marcel let out a low whistle before patting his shoulder, point up the stairs. "Go check on her, mon ami. See if she is okay."

* * *

Nora sat against the rock, her knees brought to her chest and her hands covering her face as she gently wept, her sleeves growing soaked the longer she sat there.

Lem heard the gentle sobs and hesitantly approached, careful so not to alarm her.

"Nor." He called gently and heard her stifle her sobbing. He looked over the trees, noticing the rock and quietly he walked over towards it as it seemed to be the only place where Nora could hide without being spotted first thing.

When he walked in front of it he found the woman, her head held highly in the air and her eyes closed.

He sat down on the grass next to her and she knew but paid it no attention, but he did feel her shift ever so slightly so she was closer to him.

After a moment of silence, Lem cleared his throat to ask his question. "H-How are you feelin'?"

"Okay." Her voice was hoarse and she slowly opened her eyes to look up at him. He noticed the tears building up, threatening to fall but she would not let them.

"Anythin' I can do to help?"

"Stay. I like your company."

He smiled at this and a slight blush rose to his cheeks. He averted his gaze so she wouldn't notice but the subtle chuckle she let out was a tell that she noticed.

They both sat against the rock idly, watching the leaves that fell to the ground and counting the wagon's that past by. Hours had gone by unnoticed and soon the sun began to set; painting the sky in darker colours.

He rose off the ground, brushing the dirt from his pants before lending a hand to pull Nora to her feet.

She thanked him after doing so, crossing her arms over and giving him a gentle smile in which he returned.

* * *

"The wanderer returns!" Cripps cheered as Nora approached, walking into the light radiating from the camp he had recently finished setting up.

She forced a smile as she stepped closer, waving towards the cheerful man as he passed by with his hands full of materials gathered from the business he and Harry set up.

"Have you seen my brother?" She asked him, turning on her heel to watch him pass by.

"Harry or James?"

"James."

Cripps clicked his tongue a second before shrugging, not having an answer to give. "Afraid not. He left this mornin', probably out on some bounty hunting business since he got that."

She nodded, walking towards the campfire once they had finished their talking. While he added their materials to the pile he would occasionally spare a glance at Nora as she watched the flames of the fire dance before her, her eyes looking distant and away from the reality she was in now.

"How has Miss Fike been treatin' you?" Wanting to make idle conversations he asked. She didn't acknowledge the question at first, or rather she didn't realise anything had been asked and so Cripps cleared his throat to grab her attention.

"Sorry." She muttered, looking over at the male as he finished tying the product up. He only shook his head and brushed his hands free of the dry animal blood before approaching. "Asked how Miss Fike had been treatin' you."

"Oh." She said. "Maggie's been treatin' me fine, why'd you ask?"

"Just curious I guess."

Cripps looked forward at the fire too, using a stick to poke at the logs they used. He watched the embers as they floated around the air before disappearing once they landed on the ground, the silence that had settled upon them becoming unbearable.

He let out a small sigh; clapping his hands together once which startled Nora. He winced, not intending to do so, having forgotten about her change in behaviour this past year from her being away so often.

"Sorry." He blurted out, walking quickly to her side as she sat frozen on the fallen tree log.

Raising her hand as an attempt to show that she was okay she waved him off, not needing to worry JB Cripps.

"I'm going to lie down. It's late." Her voice was blunt a little and yet quiet at the same time. She said a goodnight towards the camp manager before entering her tent, pulling the tent flaps down so she would not end up interrupted. Disappearing inside her little space for the night.

* * *

_The flames grew higher and she grew hotter. Hard to breath she felt as though she began to suffocate against the thick smoke that wrapped itself around her._

_She wanted to collapse to the ground and give in but kept fighting for she needed too._

_The gunshots rang in her air, some missing and other's scratching the surface of her skin. Burning._

_Finally free of the fire, the screams, she collapses to the ground as the tears fell freely. She took in a deep breath, but the fighting had not yet finished and no matter how hard she wished to curl into a ball and cry, she had to keep pushing on._


	3. Chapter 3

Valentine was a decent town that Nora slowly grew to call home. She was used to the way of living in Blackwater, it being a little different to what the livestock town brought but she tried avoiding Blackwater the best she could. It brought bad memories her way, memories she wanted to forget.

* * *

She stood outside of Smithfield's Saloon, giving her horse an apple while waiting for Lem Fike who had requested them to meet outside of the establishment. 

It was a while before he eventually did show up, giving her a sheepish look as he stepped closer. Nora only shook her head but waved at him regardless, shortening the distance by walking halfway to meet him.

"Mornin' Lemuel." She greeted, stopping just in front of him on the road when she felt as though they were close enough to talk.

"Mornin'." He smiled, leaning against the post that supported the balcony of the nearest building to them.

She stood just down on the steps, her hand on the gun belt. "Aunt Maggie requested me to speak with you regarding business."

"What exactly?"

"Jus' some things that need poisoning or blowing up."

"The usual then." She groaned, crossing her arms and moving to stand on the same level as Lem.

"I'll do it."

He opened his mouth to speak further but was cut short at the noise of windows shattering.

Curiously, he and Nora both looked in the direction to see a man wearing a tan jacket lying in the mud of the street. A crowd slowly began gathering around just as the tough man exits the saloon, resuming what looked to have been a fight that started inside.

"Is that Tommy?" Nora asked although it didn't need answering for it was clear from the chants and the burly appearance exactly who this was.

"Who's that f-fella on the ground?"

She shrugged. "Don't think I've ever seen him before. Must be new in town."

"Already startin' fights too."

She nodded, walking with Lem to get closer to the action in order to watch how this fight would play out.

While Tommy and this stranger continued fighting, three new men emerged from inside, faces covered in bruises especially one in particular who appeared to be more beaten up than the others.

These individuals cheered on "Arthur" repeatedly and so Nora could only assume that this was who Tommy had been fighting. She stood amused and surprised when Tommy was left in the mud, having to be saved by Thomas Downes who pleaded with 'Arthur' to leave him be.

She watched the crowd disperse and soon this well-dressed individual began talking with him, accompanied by a face she recognised all too well.

"Shit." She cursed, quickly taking Lem by the hand to drag him inside the nearest building to them.

"What?" He was startled but laughed it off regardless, watching as she walked up towards the window to watch their interaction from inside.

"That English man... I know him."

"Who is he?"

"Josiah Trelawny, a magician and a conman at that. A pretty damn good one."

Lem nodded from behind which she wouldn't have been able to have seen, watching warily as watched the strange group interact with one another.

"I'm going to see if I can hear a thing they're saying." She said before leaving the building. He watched through the windows as she moved to stand not too far away from them, lighting a cigarette so it looked as though she had only come outside for a smoke which would have been strange regardless. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched them, hearing them talk of Blackwater and how it was far too dangerous for them to return there but they would have had to for they had left a friend in the company of Bounty Hunters. These people looked mean, so she hoped that none of these Bounty Hunters were her brothers. 

Trelawny looked up, noticing the female and gave her a subtle wink that went unnoticed by them but she spotted it.

While inside, Lem had taken to order himself a shot of whiskey at the bar while he waited for Nora to come back. He thought of how strange the breaking of the window had been as Nora didn't act up as she usually would, perhaps it had been too loud or something. 

He shook his head, nursing the glass in his hand as he waited for Nora's return.

Eventually, she did come back in, rather rushed in her footsteps as she made way to join him at the bar. 

"Where is it Maggie wants me to go?" She asked, ordering herself a drink too.

"I'd rather d-discuss outside where nobody can eavesdrop, you understand."

"Of course."

He gave her a gentle nod, finishing the last of the drink and pushing away from the counter to leave, before doing so he turned towards her. "I'll meet you at Six Point Cabin tomorrow mornin', it's secluded enough."

"See you there."

* * *

Six-point cabin wasn't so far from Valentine, of course, it being in the neighbouring region of Cumberland Forest.

She sat on the hill a little distance away from the cabin itself, binoculars in hand as she spied on the new inhabitants from afar. A nasty group of individuals she failed in recognising. 

They all appeared drunk, singing and laughing around the fire and failing to take notice towards the sounds of hooves not so far from where they rested.

She gave a low whistle as she watched the drunkards, waiting for her own company to arrive even though he had yet to show.

It was verging on noon by the time Lem did arrive, cursing under his breath as he began a gentle jog to join Nora as she sat leaning against a small hill with a journal in hand she began to scribble in.

He gave her an apologetic look, muttering more words and a small 'sorry'. He was about to walk and stand on top of the only cover Nora hid behind before the smaller female pulled him down by his vest, causing him to land on the floor in a not so easy thud.

"Ow."

She rolled her eyes, walking over to lend him a hand and pull him onto his feet. "There's people over there, nasty lookin' bunch an' I dread to think what they may have done havin' seen you." She explained as she helped him up, brushing off any dust that became unsettled and stuck to his clothes during his fall.

"Shouldn't we j-j-just leave 'em then?"

"I was thinkin' we could, but I'm kinda curious to see what they're up too. Ya know?"

"I do know."

She narrowed her eyes slightly as if it were to help improve how she saw the mysterious group of individuals but the sound of hooves coming up behind them became a distraction.

"I wouldn't move if I were you." One of them muttered, pointing a revolver at the pair as he dismounted and stepped closer. Nora got a good enough look at him, recognising him as Arthur from Valentine- the same fella who ended up in a fight with Tommy. 

She let out a quiet sigh, raising her hands in the air.

"The hell are you two?" He asked, his footsteps heavy on the ground.

His companions kept back, watching the entire ordeal with a smug look but one who instead appeared to be far more terrified.

"Just some passersby's, friend. That's all."

"There a reason you're up here?"

She shrugged. "Were meant to be discussing business but it appears that some other fellas got here before us, we were just watchin' from a distance. No harm in that is there?"

'Arthur' still looked suspicious of them both but holstered his weapon regardless, crossing the space so he had now stood closer to them.

He said nothing, rather reached forward to remove the revolver from Nora's holster. He looked at the weapon and smiled, its metal being something he hadn't seen on a gun before. "Nice gun you got 'ere."

"Was a gift from my friend." She replied, waving her head towards Lem.

He nodded.

"We saw you an' your other friend in Valentine yesterday. Pickin' fights with Tommy weren't you?"

"Weren't me."

"After that you spoke with Trelawny." She added. "Josiah Trelawny. Englishman."

This caught his interest. 'Arthur' raised his brow towards her, lowering her own weapon that he had previously aimed at her. "You know Trelawny?"

"Did a few jobs for him last year, decent man, so to speak. Does enjoy talkin' a lot." This earned her a chuckle from the male.

"So you ain't with them O'Driscoll's?"

She furrowed her brows before turning briefly to look behind at the drunks. Three slowly stepped closer, talking in Irish accents and wearing the classic colour of green that distinguished them from any other gang in the area.

"Shitting hell." She mumbled, facing him once again. "No, we ain't with them bastards, didn't even realise they were here."

"Well ain't that good news for you." He muttered, all while keeping an eye on the three that arrived. They still hadn't noticed them all standing there but it was a matter of time.

"Look mister, we ain't gonna do no harm as I said, we were just passin' by."

He opened his mouth to reply to her statement but unfortunately for them, the O'Driscoll's had spotted them in the clearing and began to shoot, their bullets missing in their drunken state but it meant that they would be joined by their other company soon.

Nora startled more with the sudden gunfire, falling to the ground to shield herself from the gunfight as it ensued. 'Arthur' still had her gun on him so she remained unarmed and unable to fight against them, but the louder the shots got the more frightened she became.

There were so many and it brought back that night with the Revenue Agents, nothing good.

She saw the fire growing in her mind, telling her it wasn't safe but she felt convinced otherwise. No matter what she tried she felt rooted to the spot and unable to move.

She heard the screams of agents on fire, the burns against her skin and the exhaustion claw at her and she failed to notice how these individuals had taken care of the other O'Driscoll's for her, instead they now looked at her in mixed concern and confusion.

'Arthur' turned to face his friends, handing over Nora's revolver to the male with scars on his face that appeared to be fresh. "I'm goin' to look for Colm in that cabin, s'pose you should make sure she's okay an' Bill, mind lootin' the bodies?"

'Bill' rolled his eyes but followed regardless.

The man with the scars on his face stepped forward, passing the revolver towards Lem. He kept his arm extended forward, this awkward look on his face as he waited for a handshake. 

Hesitantly, Lem took hold and shook it. "Lemuel Fike." He introduced and the individual answered back with, "John Marston."

Lem noticed the odd glare John had given Nora at her change in behaviour and how he looked to be almost ashamed of standing next to her. He was so caught up with staring at Nora that he failed in watching the fella brought along with them and how he ran off after 'Arthur' and Bill towards the cabin. Lem was just about to offer his best explanation regarding Nora's behaviour but was cut short with the sound of a gunshot coming from Six-point Cabin which, in theory, there shouldn't have been.

John turned around, noticing the missing companion and quickly cursed before running off towards the others. 

By now she was bag up on her feet and running over to join them with Lem not too far behind to investigate what had been happening, greeted by 'Arthur' pointing the gun at the other man and accusing him of setting them up.

He was quick in his defence, stuttering his words as he responded. "I wouldn't have saved your life mister if I had been."

Bill did nod with this and had taken his side and it was the first time that Lem and Nora had heard Arthur use a name in regards of the last nameless individual. Rather, it had not been a name and a nickname that turned Nora's face sour. "O'Driscoll" had been used which was not anything to be taken proudly.

"Get outta here!" Arthur called after him, but the 'O'Driscoll' did not like that.

"Sendin' me away is just the same as killin' me, no I'm one of you guys now." He replied.

Bill placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "He did save your life."

Not pleased with hearing any of it, Arthur simply rolled his eyes. Turning to leave as he whistled for his horse.

But the O'Driscoll mentioned money from inside which had piqued their interest. He was ready to run in and grab it but had been stopped before being sent away with the others.

From where they stood, at the end of the house and against the corner, Nora and Lem were able to see Arthur's posse leave him behind as he entered the building to investigate the promise of cash being made.

"How are you feelin'?" Arthur asked Nora in particular just as soon as he emerged from inside, carrying with him a double-barreled shotgun he picked up.

"I'm fine. Ignore me when I get like that, ain't good for nobody if they don't focus on themselves."

Lem looked displeased with her comment and only shook his head in a matter to express just how displeased he had gotten with the statement made. 

"May I ask you somethin', mister?"

"Morgan, Arthur Morgan." He officially introduced. "You may ask."

"What were you talkin' with Trelawny about yesterday?"

"A friend of ours had been caught by bounty hunters. Nasty business."

"Sean MacGuire perhaps?"

He let out a small chuckle but nodded regardless. "How did you figure that much out?"

"I heard the mention of Sean an' you're a funny lookin' group, which he would mention occasionally last year. could've said no an' I would have left you to it."

He nodded. "I take it you knew him too?"

"Did the occasional job, yes."

"Anybody else you work for we may know?"

"I doubt it. I only really did work for Sean, Trelawny an' a married couple up in the mountains. The Adlers, who I don't think you'd know."

His face dropped at their mention. "Maybe you do know 'em." She mumbled, but by his expression it couldn't have been anything good.

"We know Mrs Adler. Picked her up and took her in while we were up there. O'Driscoll's got to her husband, unfortunately."

Nora shook her head, reaching into her satchel to pull out an old brooch on her. "I was meant to be travelling up there soon to give this to Sadie, she mentioned having lost one of her own. I doubt it'll mean much now but if you could give this to her I'd be real appreciative."

Arthur took the object from her hand and nodded as he tucked it away neatly in his satchel. "I will, Miss."

"Nora Morgan."

He chuckled at the shared surname before leaving them be, she watched as he rode off through the trees before disappearing.

After a moment of silence, her friend cleared his throat. With her attention grabbed, Nora turned to look at Lem.

"Suppose we should head out of here before someone gets the wrong idea, that an' we got the task for Aunt Maggie we need to do."

"With all this excitement I forgot about Maggie's errand. What was it she needed us to do again?"

"Poison some stills really. I'll jus' say we took care of it. I've had enough fun for a day."

She chuckled. "Alright, Lemuel."

He rolled his eyes, whistling for his own stallion just as Nora called for her own.

"I'll see you later, for now, I got a few errands of my own to run."

She managed to crack a small smile, waving goodbye at Lem just before adding, "See ya."


	4. Chapter 4

How she found herself back here even she did not know. Ever since that night Nora tried avoiding unpleasant spaces, one of those being the very last place she had seen Hixon alive. The area brought back bad memories and she found herself unable to willingly travel by it let alone pass through it. Yet here she was, leading her horse through the swampland as she faced one of her biggest problems. 

She looked down at the scorched ground and even Casper began to grow unsettled, letting out whinnies of protest to continue further. She turned towards the stallion, patting his neck firmly in an attempt to calm him down but it only frightened him further for an unknown reason.

Perhaps he too became haunted by Nora's past.

The horse's frantic behaviour began to put Nora in distress as she remembered the cry of the wagon's horses just before the explosion, getting reminded of flying back and thinking all had ended for her there and then in that very moment.

She heard the pain cry from Lem as he thought he was the one to have killed her. But perhaps, Nora was lucky he was there when he had been, otherwise, the fire would have gotten to her regardless.

Speaking softly to her Stallion, she began leading him out of the remnants of that night. Maybe it was so he would calm down once being out of the area or maybe she found an excuse to not face what had been haunting her once again.

As she left the vicinity she remembered just what it was she came this way for, an errand to run for her closest friend before distraction caught her. She let out a quiet sigh before mounting her horse once sure enough that he would not buck her off, firmly patting his neck before riding off towards Rhodes where she believed the nearest general store was.

* * *

Maybe Saint-Denis was a little closer, she decided. Cutting across the train bridge having provided ample in shortness but it also meant she would have further to travel once she bought the supplies she needed.

She didn't know when she started running errands to and from stores for the Fike's but she noticed how Lem would keep her on her feet daily just to bring in all sorts of provisions and supplies, but maybe it was an excuse to not see her look so glum all the time in the moonshine shack.

Maybe he was just being kind and providing a distraction in the best way he knew how. She weren't so sure.

It had been cans of food and salted meat she had been tasked with getting. The cans primarily for their moonshine business as berries were in no short supply and neither was alcohol.

So a couple cans and a satchel of salted meat was enough to be stored on the back of her horse and Cripps would usually come around weekly with more supplies so it wasn't as though Nora had too much to carry and riding back on Casper would be enough.

She also made sure to buy a few apples for the journey back, figuring her horse would appreciate a treat that was different from the carrots she would give him. She wished she had a wide choice of foods picked out for Casper, but she couldn't always afford an assortment of treats to give him and so wild carrots would suffice for now.

* * *

"How'd you get on?" Maggie asked as soon as Nora entered the property in which she purchased. The younger woman placed the saddlebags on the counter in the corner and began to remove the items requested before turning towards her boss with a gentle smile. "Good."

"You were gone quite a while, Miss Morgan. Thought you had been killed."

"Well, they ain't got me yet an' I doubt they'll get me any time soon."

Having said this impressed Maggie who gave Nora a nod in silent agree. Once her saddlebags had been unpacked and the provisions ordered were placed on the counter, she said her temporary farewells as she left the building to place the bags back.

"Hey there, Nora." Lem called from behind, walking up to her side with an old guitar in hand.

"You play?"

He looked shy. "Yeah, n-not in front of people."

"Didn't realise you could play."

He walked away to lean the guitar against the wall of the moonshine shack, returning to stand by Nora once more who had taken to treating Casper with an apple she non-verbally promised him.

"Learned a long time ago, still pick it up her an' there but for the most part I don't really like to play no more."

Nora frowned at these words shortly after pulling away from her horse. He bounced back and forth on his feet as he awkwardly stood before her, his hands swaying loosely at his sides. "You were gone a while, run into any problems?"

"One." She answered, walking past to sit on the old bench outside the shack. Lem followed suit, taken to lean against the building and look down at her rather than sit by her side. "Went back to that swampland, where we got Hixon an' Danny-Lee."

"All the way down there?"

"Guess somethin' called me to it." She replied, gently shrugging her shoulders.

He pushed himself from against the wall and walked around to stand in front of her, crouching so he was at her level while she was sitting. 

"How'd it go?"

No reply but the saddened expression she received as a response to his innocent question. He didn't need to ask anything more as he already knew the answer, but he still donned a smile. Gently he reached forward and took hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "For what it is worth, I'm proud of you." He said, his voice calm.

"I went someplace an' you're proud?"

"It's a bad place for you Nora. It's like askin' me to go back to jail an' face what's been troubling me." He began. "Although can't really do that."

She let out a light chuckle just as he rose from the crouching position to finally sit by her side.

"How long were you there for?"

"Couple minutes but I had to leave as Casper here was started to become frightened."

"Or was you frightened?"

"I was uneasy being there but once Casper started to get jumpy I decided to leave."

"For what it's worth, M-Miss Morgan, I'm proud you went there. On your own doing."

"Guess so." She turned to look at him, getting entranced by his blue eyes for a moment that she had forgotten what it had been she was meaning to say.

"Lem."

"Yeah?"

Finally peeling away, she looked down at her hands that lay in her lap. "Just wanted to thank you, f-for bein' so kind to me. Makin' a lot of this better."

"I know you'd do the same for me."

"I hope so."

* * *

_She pushed forward, missing the hail of bullets sent her way from the heavy fire following the agent as he manned the maxim gun._

_She grew panicked, knowing it would be near impossible to walk out without a few scrapes and wound from it but she needed to keep trying for Maggie depended on her to do._

_Blindly she aimed over the boxes she hid behind and fired her rifle a couple of time's, praying for something to be hit. When the shooting from the gun ceased did she look up to see what little work she had accomplished._

_Nobody was there, but she saw a few running back for it._

_Taking a deep breath she ran forward, her legs feeling weak and threatening to give way underneath her._

_Her lungs burning._

_She would say that she was doing this for Maggie, the woman having sent her. But maybe, she was really doing it for Lem._


	5. Chapter 5

"So he returns!" Nora cheered as she spotted the all too familiar face enter the Saloon. He turned towards her, excitement already plain to see.

Sean MacGuire pulled the chair out opposite, inviting himself to sit at the table with her. "Nice seein' you again, Miss Morgan." He greeted.

"Guess it's nice seein' you too, also nice seein' that you found your "funny lookin' friends" again."

He let out a guffaw at the passing comment, giving her a toothy grin thereafter. "What are you doin' this far from Blackwater anyway? Thought you lived over that way."

"No... no. I used too, but after Sisika I tried avoiding that place."

"That's right, I remember now."

Nora gave a slight nod, taking a moment to gaze beyond the window at the street. While not much, it was the closest she could call home and it done its job well.

"So; what are you doing here anyway?" She asked, trying to sound polite and start a conversation even though her wording came across rather bluntly.

"A friend of mine, Arthur, he had business here and dragged me along for it." He explained.

"I know Arthur. Met him an' a few other fellas the other day, they was with an O'Driscoll."

"What business could they possibly have with an O'Driscoll?" He laughed as if she had told him a joke. Nora only shrugged, leaning forward and placing her arms flat against the table.

"I thought you would know about him by now, nervous little fella it seems; black hair an' unshaven. Smells of horse shit?"

"You on about that Kieran?"

"I don't know his name."

The explanation seemed too good to be a flat out lie and he saw no reason as to why Nora would claim for a member of his gang to be an O'Driscoll without legitimate cause too. He furrowed his brow in thought and noticed how everyone had taken to be impolite towards him and how he was usually alone on most occasions, but he figured him to be shy.

When Arthur entered the building he was quickly hollered over by the Irishman, his voice now a little serious instead of that cheerful tone.

"I been looking for you all over, Sean, shoulda known I'd find you in a Saloon of all places." Arthur spoke in a hushed town as he walked over, ignoring the female as she sat not so far away from them.

Awkwardly, she remained by and listened to their conversation it wasn't as though she was being rude by eavesdropping it was more so the case that they hadn't asked for her to leave or had taken the opportunity to move themselves. She wasn't even sure if they knew she was still sat there.

She cleared her throat which earned their attention after the petty squabble about Sean's wandering off and immediately guilt flashed across Arthur's face before replaced by that same cold glare he usually wore. "Sorry, Nora. Hadn't seen you there."

"It's fine."

Then Sean was reminded of their earlier conversation. "So apparently that Kieran's an O'Driscoll."

Arthur's face sank at the mention and everyone in the saloon all silenced at the loud accusation Sean sent out. Nora felt uncomfortable at the glares given her way and she felt more guilty now with the look Arthur sent her at the mention, after all, how else could Sean have known?

Knowing that they were being watched, Arthur snapped back by gently tapping the Irishman over the back of his head, following this by speaking, "He ain't."

This pleased the patrons in Smithfield's Saloon enough for the trio to leave the building without too many suspicious glances.

Once they were outside they were all taken to near Chadwick farm, not too close to the building in the case that somebody would be able to hear them from the inside. "Couldn't of been any louder, could you Sean." Arthur scolded, his face clearly showing his annoyance at the small scene caused.

"So when were you going to tell me we took on an O'Driscoll then?" He snapped back, his arm raised and hand pointing roughly in the direction of Horseshoe Overlook.

Nora stood by, visibly uncomfortable with the situation she found herself in.

"I didn't mean to tell him, I thought he knew." She was quiet and Arthur almost didn't catch what she had said. Luckily, he picked up on her words and turned towards the smaller girl with a sympathetic look.

"Mistakes happen, ain't your fault."

She let in a quiet sniffle, nodding her head slowly before finally allowing out a deep breath from relief. Sean chuckled, amused by this.

"So little Kieran Duffy's an O'Driscoll then aye? Now that I think about it, I see it."

"How so?" Nora asked.

"You've seen him, nervy. Ain't nobody going to be so nervy with a group unless they knew jus' how much they were hated. Ya know, the others don't seem to take too fondly to him neither."

Arthur cut in quickly. "They don't take too fondly to Micah neither."

The Irishman let out a hearty laugh, patting the brawny male on the shoulder. But Arthur kept his face as dull as stone, not letting even the most subtle of smiles crack, he raised a figure and sharply poked Sean in the chest with it. "But don't you go an' give the O'Driscoll any trouble, at least not too much." He warned.

He raised his hands defensively and talk a large step back from Arthur. "Oh 'course I ain't going to do that. I ain't gonna do nothin', got my word on that Arthur Morgan."

Satisfied, Arthur turned towards Nora with previous intentions of leaving her to get back to her own, having enjoyed his outing enough but had instead taken to change his mind. He looked down at her gun belt, the revolver in its holster.

He gave her a grin and finally broke that awkward silence amongst them to finally ask her a question.

"Say, how well can you use a gun?"

* * *

"So you needed me to help you break a friend out of jail? You don't exactly strike me as the sort to need help, Mister Morgan."

"He ain't no friend."

"And so you're breakin' him out?" Maybe Arthur does things differently than what she has done in the past, knowing how she willingly left people in jail simply because she had a distasteful relationship with them.

Her questions regarding this seemed to annoy Arthur more and he audibly grew frustrated with answering so many questions sent his way. He compared it the curiosity similar to that of young Jack Marston's who could not be blamed given it was usual for children to have a tendency to ask a lot of questions.

It was Nora, a fully grown adult at twenty-four having many questions that irked him.

"Micah's a crazy individual, it'd be no harm in having an extra gun just in case."

No longer did she want to play into his irritation and instead she became slightly fearful of what may happen if she were to help with this jailbreak. She pulled back on the reins to stop Casper from following any further and soon Arthur had copied to see what she was playing at now.

"What is it?"

She shook her head quickly, silently refusing to go along with the task.

"I-." She tried but her words began to fail her and soon tears began to lightly fall down her cheeks, causing runs in the makeup she wore.

"I don't think I can." She managed. "You saw what happened to me back at Six-point Cabin, I don't want that to happen here with somethin' important. I don't have-." Before she could say she caught herself, refusing to speak any further over the topic.

At this Arthur raised an eyebrow but knew all too well the refusal to talk further. "You'll be fine."

"I was told that last year. Seems to be gettin' worse."

"An' that friend of yours, what was his name? Lenny, Len, L-."

"Lem."

"Lem, he knows how to calm you when you get all hysterical?"

She wouldn't have worded it like that but it was the truth, harsh at that but honest spoken.

Slowly she nodded to answer, hanging her head in shame at the realisation that perhaps she depended on Lem more so than she knew previously and more tears began to fall.

"We all have our people we rely on, he's your friend an' I bet the only one who really knows about all this."

"Suppose so. Ain't really thought much on it."

"You need a bit to calm yourself? I'm sure you'll be okay in Strawberry if thing's do get out of hand and if not- I'll buy you a drink afterwards."

"Guess you have a deal, Mister Morgan." For a brief moment she managed to crack him a smile which he reciprocated before spurring for her horse to follow along on the road.

"I'll tell you a little about Micah just so you know what we're dealin' with."

She nodded. "Please do. Ain't as though he's well-liked."

They shared a chuckle, with Arthur nodding with his agreement. "No, he isn't."

* * *

She looked over the hook once more, making sure it was in fact secured properly to the bars of the window.

She backed away a few paces before raising her thumb towards Arthur, watching as he pulled the lever on the steam donkey to rip the wall clean off.

Eventually, Micah emerged from within and the group had to work quickly so this rescue wouldn't result in any of them dying. Nora provided cover fire while Arthur quickly handed over a spare revolver to Micah so he wasn't running unarmed.

"We gotta go this way, I have some unfinished business." Micah commented, leading the group across the bridge.

Arthur let out a cry of disapproval but it had been drowned out by the sound of shooting.

Nora was unsure of what was happening but the associate Arthur had to break out of jail decided he was to enter a house over a couple of guns that he needed to pick up.

She asked no questions at the obvious murder that happened before her eyes, having been briefly told that this man was 'crazy' in many's opinions.

The lawmen tripled in numbers and they were quickly overwhelmed and yet they kept on, succeeding in the fight with very little wounds.

They left the town soon after, while the fight did become harder it did not mean they gave in so easily and in no time they were free of the law and in the clear.

After this Arthur had turned towards Micah to discipline him over the act he pulled in Strawberry, the killing of innocents over a pair of guns that went unneeded.

Micah quickly turned towards the female as she idly stood by, watching the scene of their bickering unfold before her. "And who is this then?" His question sounded bitter as if displeased with her presence there.

"A friend." Arthur grumbled, taking out a cigarette from his satchel which he passed over to the female. She took it with thanks, turning back towards his friend. She placed the cigarette between her lips, before extending her hand towards Micah Bell, "Nora Morgan." He scrunched up his face in disgust, ignoring the handshake on offer and instead turning towards Arthur.

"You tell the boss I'll be returning to camp later, for now I gotta find a way to make up for this."

Nora rolled her eyes at the sly tone in his voice, she turned away just as she lit the cigarette and leaving them to talk amongst themselves while she focused on the

She was all too familiar with the sexism that radiated off of Micah Bell, having often dealt with such treatment during her time in Sisika with the guards that littered the place and just as she used to do during her time behind bars she chose to ignore such treatment, it wouldn't be any better for her if she acted out against it.

At least she wasn't treated the same why by Arthur or any of the men she travelled with, her own brothers always thought of her as more an equal rather than anything less and Cripps approached her with respect. That was one thing she never got used too and would often scold Cripps over, telling him she was just as he was and to not treat her as anything more.

While she had been lost in her thoughts, Micah had since departed unbeknownst to her. It was then did Arthur feel awkward in grabbing her attention as he wasn't so sure how to go about it. He settled for clearing his throat which she hadn't picked up at first, only was it the third time in his doing did she finally face him.

She quickly apologised.

"You did good, told you everythin' would be okay."

"You said I would be okay, not everything."

"Well.." Mister Morgan gave a light chuckle, throwing away the remnants of his cigarette with Nora soon following thereafter.

"You were right about Micah, his company is insufferable and what was the deal with that couple in Strawberry?"

"Even I don't know, jus' Micah being Micah I suppose."

"That sounds like a common thing."

Arthur shrugged, kicking his leg up to rest against one of the boulders nearby. "It might be."

She followed him with her eyes, noticing how where they stood had given them a clear view of flat-iron lake, a location Nora used to fish at often with her brothers.

"How is Mrs. Adler?"

"She's as good as losing your husband goes, but that ain't stopped her so much, does more work around camp than some of the men."

"She was always a tough one, Sadie."

"Still is, I s'pose."

"Did you give the brooch to her?"

He didn't answer verbally at first, instead passing over a small stack of money. "She asked that I give this to you."

Nora looked at the cash in hand before shaking her head in refusal, even if she wanted to she felt guilty taking it.

"Please keep it, or give it back to her."

"Alright."

She looked back over at Flat-iron lake with a fond smile, keeping her gaze away from Mr. Morgan as she studied the waters from the great distance. "You keep Sadie safe, I'll see you around, Arthur."

* * *

"Look who's back." Maggie cheered just as Nora entered the building. She looked on fondly, raising her cane in the air and foolishly waving it about.

Lem had eventually reached forward to lower the weapon down, making sure to keep it pointed at the ground save for anywhere else as it's waving would creep dangerously close to Nora.

"What have you been up to?" He asked, being polite and making conversation with Nora.

"Got roped into a jailbreak." He looked shocked by her answer but figured it to not be out of the usual for her. "How'd you get on?" This question wasn't about the success or failure of the mission, it was more directed at how Nora was able to handle the situation. He just needed to know if she had cried or if she became frantic during their heist.

He was surprised at the bright smile on her face as she answered him, "I was okay. It went well."

He reciprocated her look of joy, reaching forward to place his hand on top of her very own. "That's good to hear."

She was ready to reply before Maggie cleared her throat to grasp their attention, this unpleasant scowl on her face after witnessing such an interaction. Awkwardly, Lem retracted his hand to hide below the table while Nora placed hers on top of her own.

"Unfortunately for you however, we do need someone to retrieve some ingredients for our business and I trust that you both can do it." She instructed, her voice holding that same level of authority they had grown used to.

Upon the news of ingredients Lem's face as paled however as he recalled the event of their last attempt at bringing in a shipment of good for Maggie and slowly he turned to face Nora who too, looked worried.

She picked up on their worried expressions and let out an exaggerated sigh at this. "It ain't like the boat, you'll be pickin' up a wagon from near Rhodes."

Nora nodded as she replied to her business partner. "That's not too bad then."

"No, 'course not."

* * *

_As the bullets flew by she let out a string of curses under her breath, looking up to see Lem more exposed than she was._

_She hissed at the burning sensation in her shoulder, looking down to notice the unfortunate crimson colour beginning to stain the material of her shirt._

_She pushed on, not letting the wound distract her from the priority she had; protecting Lem._

_"Keep him safe" kept repeating in her mind, the warning given sternly by Maggie. It was what the women told her the day she was tasked with preventing Lem's transfer to Sisika. Then she was able to do so and Lem was returned home that night, not a scratch on him but here, right now, she worried she would fail by Maggie and fail to keep her nephew safe._

_But the bullets became worse and now their boat became grounded, the worrying set in again and as the revenue men ran for them, while slowed by the swampy waters it was still terrifying for her and Lem's desperate cry for the boat to become unstuck didn't help matters._

_She looked up at Lem, who fell backwards at the sudden push of the boat moving forwards._

_"Let's get the hell outta here!" He cried out in celebration upon their vessel begging to move. The pain in her shoulder became noticeable now and it grew hard to ignore._


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to lie, but I struggled with writing this chapter (writer's block, etc) so it may not be the best but I am happy with what I got.  
> Apologies if I could have by chance done something better, but this was the best of my ability. I hope y'all enjoy it :)

At their feet lay the remnants of the wagon they had been sent out to collect, wood ripped apart and thrown carelessly with no evidence of supplies ever being there save for the 'seven' scratched into a crate left on the side.

Holding for some hope of being able to salvage something, they searched the area but found nothing to take back to Maggie.

She clicked her tongue to break away from that silence, brushing her hands against the materials of her skirt as she pulled away from lifting one of the old wheels. "She ain't gonna be happy when we get back."

"No an' I ain't happy about all this neither, how can someone get away with stealin' a whole damn w-wagon." He cried, carelessly throwing a splintering plank away, expressing his frustration at the ordeal with a huff as he marched over towards his horse.

"I mean, I know them Lemoyne Raiders aren't exactly shoved to the side over here, but surely somebody had to have tried intervenin'."

"I doubt it, or they killed anybody who had done so."

Lem turned back to face her but gave no response, the anger written bluntly across his face. She knew it wasn't directed at her but as she walked the distance to join him at where their horses had been left she could not help but feel guilty under the intense glare.

While she traipsed across the grass she was able to pick up on the unpleasant comments Lem made, some insulting him and others insulting the raiders for having thrown a wrench into their plans.

This was meant to have been an easy job and yet even they failed in retrieving one wagon from the next state over, something any child could have potentially done. He blamed his bad luck, something like this usually always happening whenever he tried to help out with the business and honestly, he wondered why it was that Maggie still allowed him out on errands anymore.

"Why don't you go buy some replacements for the ingredients, Lemuel, I'll go tell your aunt about this."

"No, Maggie's gonna be a lot less harsh on me than she is you." He objected quickly despite knowing this was never any arguing with Nora Morgan. She ignored his plea, slowing down on her ride as to walk at the same speed as he. "You covered for me last time."

"Last time we both didn't do what was asked."

"No, but.." He started but found it difficult to say what he had been meaning too, not without sounding too harsh. "Maggie don't trust you right now, not since.. you know."

She was already aware, still observant as an individual and picking up on the lack of faith Maggie held with her no later than a week after they began to grow worse. It hadn't been surprising and Lem just retelling her it all gained no response, at least, not one he had been hoping for.

"If she gets rid of me, then that's her choice just as it is mine to tell her that we didn't get them ingredients."

"Morgan." He tried, but Nora refused to listen any further. She simply shrugged before kicking into a gallop to get a head start on the journey back home.

Lem cursed under his breath as he saw her ride off. In any other case he probably would have gone after her, but today he was in just no mood to argue any longer and so he stayed behind, deciding to listen to her instructions and divert his journey through Rhodes to buy anything they could replace the ingredients with.

* * *

She took a few minutes to prep herself before actually entering the shack, the reality of what Maggie could do unknown and scary. 

Nora wasn't sure if her approach should be blunt, if she should walk on inside and tell the woman straight out about their failure in taking a wagon back or if she should sweeten her way into the subject, start a conversation which would then lead to the lost ingredients.

Maggie would appreciate the blunt approach and it was one Nora had gone for previously but she did end up receiving a harsh telling off after doing so.

It took a while before Nora could even push open the door, sheepishly walking inside the building and sneaking down the stairs to the basement where Marcel was humming to himself as he worked, oblivious to the other's presence in his space.

"Marcel." Nora whisper-shouted, knocking the wood of the door frame to better grasp his attention. 

"What is it now." He grumbled, holding his sweeping brush still as he turned to look at her. "Ah, Miss Morgan I did not know it was you, have you grabbed those ingredients?"

She gritted her teeth as the first answer and this displeased Marcel. "What happened?"

"There was no wagon to begin with, gotta tell Maggie now and thought I would say my final farewell to you before I am possibly murdered."

"Oh you are so dramatic, jus' tell her you and Lem had been ambushed or something, she will most likely not be so harsh."

She gave out a quiet sigh. "I can't lie to Maggie."

"Lie to me about what exactly?" Her voice was sharp, distant and yet so close and Nora startled upon hearing the woman speak. She stumbled forward from leaning against the door frame before regaining herself enough to turn back and talk.

"May we talk upstairs, Maggie?" The woman gave a simple nod before leading her way back, taking her time as she ascended the stairs with her cane being used to support her.

A chill ran down Nora's spine once she left alone with Miss Fike, the woman's stone-cold glare enough to kill a man and yet there was always some comfort to be found within it. That was what probably led Nora to admire her, how she was always a cold woman and yet so very kind.

"Come on, spit it out then."

"Well, that wagon you sent us after ended up bein' destroyed and them ingredients taken."

"Good."

"You see-." She caught herself before the excuses came out, surprised and the pleasant expression Maggie wore upon the news. "Excuse me?" Nora asked as if believing that her own ears had betrayed her.

"I said good."

"Forgive me, but how is this good?"

The woman let out a low chuckle as she walked around to sit back at the same desk she was usually glued to at all hours of the day. "Them ingredients weren't exactly for us. I knew the Raiders were gonna try an' go for you if you began transporting a wagon full of moonshine ingredients. I had just hoped that with any luck they were the ones to succeed."

Maggie looked over at Nora, expecting her to make some passing comment at this plan but instead the other female stood bewildered in the room, her mouth slightly agape. The older woman took this as a sign to continue with her explanation and judging by Nora's face she could tell that the woman was still listening. 

"You were sent to transport poison basically, nothin' we need. At least not now." She brought her hand down on the desk, slapping it firmly which caught Nora who had been unsuspecting it.

"There was the problem of sendin' you however."

"There was?"

"You're a fighter, Nora and a damn good one. I knew if somethin' were to happen you'd fight until they were all dead and you, unscathed. So I had to send Lem because you care for him just as I do."

"Why couldn't you have told us the plan anyway?"

"I have my reasons.. for now why don't you an' Marcel enjoy a drink while we wait for Lem's return. He would appreciate an explanation too."

"He would."

* * *

After that meeting with Maggie and taking some time to take a walk and clear her head, Nora found herself standing near the river with her hand full of small pebbles she tried to skip.

It was quiet in the location she had picked, no animals near and no riders passing by on the trail. It gave her plenty of time to reflect on her thoughts and more time to throw the pebbles into the water to let out some of her frustrations. 

"Throw any harder and there'll be no water left in the river." A gruff voice said behind her, she had been caught so off guard that the minute this stranger stopped talking she had her revolver aimed.

"Arthur." She gasped, eyes wide upon recognising the all too familiar face. He gave her a cheeky grin, using the tip of his finger to point the gun away from him. When she realised what he had been doing she quickly holstered the weapon and raised her arms while apologising on the spot. 

It was after she had realised that she almost shot Arthur did she notice the young boy who hid behind his legs, bright eyes looking at her with a mix of curiosity and fear.

Nora hadn't said anything, only looking bewildered at the child as if she hadn't seen one before and this prompted a quiet chuckle from Mr. Morgan. "This is Jack, a son of a friend, she asked me to take him out fishing."

"Oh well, this is a good spot."

"I do think it is."

She crouched down so she was level with the boy's height, gently holding her palm out flat. "Hey there, Jack." She started and he seemed to ease at her gentle voice, slowly coming out from hiding behind Arthur's legs. "I'm Nora."

"Hello." The boy spoke softly, placing a small hand on her own which she gently shook before pulling her hand away.

She couldn't help the smile that tugged on her lips. "How did you know about this spot anyway? I don't believe I've seen you out here yet and from simple interactions I don't think you're from around here, Morgan."

"A friend. He's a great fisherman and he's been in the area in the past."

"I see." She stood. "Mind some more company?"

"A lovely lady such as yourself? Not at all, ma'am."

"You remind me of Lem, always a charmer even though it's obvious that the charm's an act."

At her comment he had feigned insult but smiled upon hearing the chuckle from Jack as he stood by and watched. "Why don't we get started on fishing, Jack?" He asked, walking the boy over to the waters and passing over a fishing rod.

She didn't pay much mind to what Arthur told the boy instead she decided on taking an old book out of her satchel and leaning against the rock to read. Being caught with the lovely words on the paper she hadn't notice young Jack approach and stand before her, not until the child had gently tugged on the material of her skirt. 

She looked forward and offered a kind smile and in turn the boy held up a bundle of flowers freshly picked. She closed her book and leant forward, inspecting the flowers. "Those are pretty Jack, who are they for?"

"Momma."

She nodded. "She'll love them."

He held them up again. "Can you hold them for me? I wanna make her a necklace."

"Out of flowers?"

"Miss Tilly showed me how to make them."

Nora gently took the flowers from his hands, careful not to crush any in doing so before neatly laying them out on her skirt. The boy went straight back to picking at more flowers before he was satisfied with the number gathered in his hand he returned to Nora to begin his craft.

She watched as he delicately wove the flowers together, his eyes furrowing in his concentration all while Arthur kept to himself as he fished. She enjoyed their company she found and enjoyed listening to the small stories Jack whispered to himself as he done so.

"You ready to go Jack?" Arthur walked over to them, putting the rod away in his satchel just as the child finished his creation.

He proudly held it up with a fond look in his eye and Arthur complimented it just before whistling for his horse to come. The boy handed over his necklace so he could stand before taking it back, however, just as Arthur turned he had been stopped in his tracks by a couple of individuals who had dressed perhaps a little too fancy for this area.

"Arthur Morgan." One greeted, while the other stood behind with a repeater in hand. Jack had taken to hide behind him once again and since these newcomers hadn't noticed Nora yet she decided to pull the revolver from her holster and hold it ready just in case.

They talked amongst themselves, with Arthur keeping sure that the boy was more protected then he was and eventually they grew tired of the conversation and left. 

It was then did she finally talk. "Who were they?"

"Pinkertons."

"What did they want with you?"

He chuckled. "I am a bad man, Nora. They jus' needed to speak with me about that." She shook her head, watching as he mounted up before pulling Jack to sit on the saddle with him.

"You're far from a bad man, Morgan. I'll see you around." She said, thinking that this was a farewell but Arthur didn't think it was.

"Don't mean to sound rude or anythin', but would you mind waitin' here? I think Dutch should speak to us about this."

"Dutch?"

"My mentor shall we say." Arthur tipped his hat towards the lady. "If that's alright with you of course."

"I don't mind."

* * *

When Arthur did return she had expected him to be with this 'Dutch' he had mentioned but he came back alone, this apologetic look on his face as he stopped just short of her.

She lowered the horse brush as he dismounted and stepped closer and she had expected him to apologise for asking her to stay and that Dutch did not wish to talk with her.

"He's asked for you to talk with him at camp."

She raised one of her eyebrows, admittedly confused about the request. "Camp?"

"It is a long story miss, but if you will, would you mind riding with me back to Horseshoe Overlook?"

Hesitantly she accepted the request, wondering why he seemed to be very nervous all of a sudden with this request. He thanked her, mounting up once more with Nora copying with her own Casper. "May I ask, why do you appear so careful about talkin' about your camp and the people you run with?"

"It's tricky business. Keepin' us all safe is the primary reason, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Tricky business, as I said."

"Alright then, lead the way."

* * *

When they got to the camp the welcome was.. less than warm. John, who she recognised from the encounter at Six-Point Cabin looked less than impressed with her being there and the hold he had on the repeater only seemed to tighten when she stepped closer towards him.

If that hadn't been bad enough when she did eventually walk into what she presumed to be the camp itself all eyes had turned to look at her, wary glances on her as she followed Arthur towards a white tent situated right in the middle where a fairly-well dressed man sat with a book in his hand.

She recognised him too, also from Valentine where he spoke with Trelawny shortly after Arthur's fight with Tommy.

Arthur cleared his throat as they neared the tent and he eagerly looked up from the pages, this charming smile upon his face once his eyes settled upon Nora.

"This is the girl I mentioned Dutch, Nora Morgan."

"Nice meetin' you mister." She spoke politely but felt too nervous to extend her hand forward for a handshake, choosing to keep her hands firmly to her sides and her fists in tight balls.

"It's great to finally meet you, miss." He spoke, this commanding tone in his voice that was spoken so gently. He called them both over to stand inside his tent. "Arthur tells me you two encountered some Pinkertons while out fishing."

"Yes, forgive me, but I fail to see why you needed to talk with me regardin' this, sir."

"You were there, weren't you?"

"I was present but vaguely listening to anything they said. Weren't my place to eavesdrop."

He nodded, looking a little impressed. "You didn't catch their names did you?"

Arthur opened his mouth to talk but Dutch raised his hands to stop him before any words came out and if he were some trained dog, Arthur quickly shut it. He looked fondly at Nora as he waited an answer and under his gaze she felt very uncomfortable. 

"Milton and Ross, or those were their last names. But I'm sure Arthur must have mentioned all this already."

"Oh, he has." Dutch announced. "But, I just needed to make sure you knew too."

"What for?"

He shook his head just as he rose from the bed in which he had been seated. "Don't worry about it just yet, miss."

"Please, call me Nora."

"Very well." He smiled and very quickly he changed their subject from what they had previously discussed. "I believe you already know young Sean and Josiah Trelawny. Arthur's told us this too."

"Yes, did a couple of jobs for them last year, I also know Mrs. Adler too and, well, her husband."

"Nasty business, damn O'Driscoll's it was."

"Heard you got an O'Driscoll here too, forgive me for sayin'."

"Kieran? Trust me, if he meant any harm I would have shot him long ago. That or Arthur here would have. But I doubt he'll ever do anythin' to us, I mean.."

"I get what you mean sir."

He nodded, looking beyond where the female stood and at the wagons where a group of young women sat with pieces of old clothing in their laps and needles and thread in their hands. "Miss Grimshaw." He shouted, and an older woman with a harsh glare looked over to stare at them. He beckoned her over with his hand and she abruptly stopped cleaning the table to march on over. 

"Miss Grimshaw, would you kindly take our friend here to talk with Mrs. Adler, I'm sure she would like to see her." He asked and quickly she had to object to the idea, no matter how much she thought it would be nice to see Sadie she also did not want to invade their space any longer. 

"I'd like too, really, but I feel like I'm trespassing."

"Don't worry about it miss, you'd be trespassing if I did not allow you here now wouldn't you?"

"S'pose I would be, yes." She looked towards this miss Grimshaw who appeared far from pleased with Nora's presence but beckoned her to follow regardless when Dutch finished talking.

Nora was just thankful that she wasn't taken through the part of the camp where everyone appeared to have gathered upon her arrival. Mrs Adler was sat by a smaller campfire reading a book, completely unaware that Nora was stood near her.

"Mrs Adler, you got company." Grimshaw announced before she walked off. The woman looked up, perhaps expecting one of the camp members to be standing there but had been surprised when she came face to face with that old friend from the year before.

"Miss Morgan." She cheered but her voice broke from the all crying and when the hat hadn't shaded her face the tear stains became apparent.

"How are you doin'? I-I heard about Jake."

"Terrible puttin' it lightly. It's like one giant nightmare." She sniffled after, using the heel of her hand to wipe away a few stray tears. "But I'm survivin', just barely."

"I imagine it's pretty hard. Sorry that it happened to you."

"Oh none of it was your fault, don't dare apologise." Sadie chuckled, the smallest of smiles present on her face in doing so. "How are these guy's anyway?"

"They're okay people. Abigail and Mary-Beth had been kind and it's nice havin' folk around and besides, I like the company."

"Must be lovely."

"Thought you had a gang of your own?"

Nora gave a slow nodded, this 'gang' really just a bunch of people who came together for the sake of things. She turned towards Sadie. "Well, Harry an' James are busy with their bounty huntin' careers. Cripps been keepin' busy at camp an' Lem an' me we still run the 'shine." She had whispered the mention of moonshine so no curious ears could hear what she discussed, but she still gave cautious glances around incase anybody was near.

"You an' Lem still run together?"

"Well yeah."

"Thought after that night you wouldn't, it all got.. messy."

"Which night?"

"The one with the explosions and then the party and drinks."

Nora gasped, it's details hazy but she could remember enough about it to understand what it was Sadie talked about. "That argument? We apologised the day after, agreed we both had said things we didn't mean."

"What was the argument about?"

"Nothin', there was no need for it. Guess we both had too much whiskey."

"Guess you did."

Nora looked away ashamed; keeping her eyes peeled to the ground beneath her and gently Sadie would pat her shoulder before retracing her hand. "I really like catchin' up with you Sadie, but I gotta leave soon, Cripps is at camp and we're expecting James and Harry to return."

The other woman nodded, taking Nora by the arm and walking her back down towards the horses to see her off. She spoke quietly about nothing in particular before stopping just before Casper.

As Nora mounted up Sadie tugged on the woman's skirt to better grab her attention again. "You tell your brothers I said 'hi' will you?"

"I will, it was nice seein' you again, Mrs. Adler." 

Sadie gave a light-hearted chuckle before taking a step back to allow Nora to leave. She raised her hand in a wave before the woman could not be seen anymore and even after Nora's departure she remained standing at the path for a moment longer, holding on to that final piece of her past.

While Sadie lingered there Abigail had taken to approach the woman, as a means to check up on her. "She seems nice."

"She is, was always willing to travel up into the mountains for a simple job for me an' my Jakey." She replied, dropping her head to look at the ground. "She's always had a heart of gold."

Abigail nodded, wrapping her arm around Sadie's shoulders to lead her back into the camp and towards the stew pot. "Why don't you an' I get something to eat an' maybe you can tell me about this Nora."

"If you want me too."


	7. Chapter 7

"Mister Morgan." Nora cried as she saw the familiar figure in Valentine. With him he had been accompanied by one of of the women she recognised from Horseshoe Overlook, Mary 'Something' she vaguely remembered. 

Arthur waved as she approached and asked what she called him over for when she stepped close enough.

"I been out an' found a few Gold bars I thought you'd be interested in."

"How many?"

"I have five on me currently, although I can find some more. I have.. ways."

"Five?!" He sounded astonished at the quantity and his voice cracked a little when he repeated the number. Even his companion looked shocked. "Did you rob a small bank for these or somethin'?" At Arthur's question she let out a snort, quickly shaking her head to dismiss this.

"No no, did some treasure huntin'." She answered but leaned forward slightly with her hand covering her mouth. "My bank robbin' days are long behind me, mister."

She passed over all the bars; giving him a gentle smile. "Figured you an' the other's would need these more than I do."

"That's awfully sweet of you." His friend replied and through a blush Nora shook it off. "It ain't nothin' miss."

Arthur bagged the gold in his satchel but dug out a bracelet to reward her for the efforts regardless, seeing as she must have faced a few challenges in order to get five gold bars.

"Why are you two out here anyway?"

"Miss Grimshaw asked Mary-Beth an' I to come out here for supplies."

Mary-Beth nodded along.

"Lem's around somewhere, guess we had been doin' the same out here."

"Ah yes, your friend." He turned towards Mary-Beth with a smug look. "I'm sure you've read a few novels where they start out as friends."

"Oh yes an' then one night they get together an'-."

"Ok, I'm gonna stop you there." Nora cut in quickly and this prompted a gentle giggle from the pair of them. She rolled her eyes but couldn't disguise the red tint to her cheeks that had become more apparent since Mary-Beth's earlier thanks.

When Mary-Beth hushed her giggling with Arthur resuming Lem had finally emerged from inside the general store. He looked over at the three, mostly his gaze wandering too Mary-Beth who he found pretty. "He's cute too." She complimented and Nora let out a groan while he sputtered out his words of gratitude. 

"Why don't you ladies go into the saloon or somethin' while me an' Lem here finish our shopping trips, yeah?" Arthur said and before anyone could say much Mary-Beth grabbed her arm and dragged her into the establishment. 

The music inside was loud and gently she gasped at the harshness of the sound brought to her ears. "Miss, may we please step outside." She cried, but her plea fell on deaf ears as she was dragged further inside.

Mary-Beth was a lovely lady and on the odd chance that Nora went to Horseshoe Overlook she would occasionally sit and chat with the women, often being left with Mary-Beth even though she never properly learned her name.

They remained in that Saloon, the other female idly gossiping as they sat at an old table and the longer they stayed the more uneasy Nora felt which had been strange as she was fine moments ago. Mary-Beth unfortunately, hadn't noticed the visible discomfort on her face but it wasn't minded as she liked to listen to the stories told of the other women around camp.

They idly talked before Lem eventually came back in, calling them both out and quickly she followed as she became eager to leave the building. When outside she sped up her pace until she stood in the middle of the street. "Nora, you alright?" She looked up and stood there wasn't Lem rather it was her brother, or both of them.

Harry's beard was longer than recalled but it was still him, she knew because it was still untidy and held remnant of whiskey in it. "What the hell are you two doin' here?"

"It's nice seein' you two." He mocked, trying to copy her voice the best he could but it only sounded terrible. James also laughed at his brother's antics and even more so at his older sister's annoyed expression. 

Not expecting the family reunion, the three who Nora previously with just looked on confused but regardless found themselves amused in the slightest. "Who are these then?" Arthur asked.

She turned towards the outlaw all while pointing at her brother's. "This is Harry." She pointed towards one with the messy beard and charming smile and then moved her hand towards the younger looking male, distinguished by the scar down his cheek, "And James."

Harry took Arthur's hand to shake it. "Nice meetin' you..."

"Arthur, Arthur Morgan." He then pointed towards Mary-Beth. "Mary-Beth." He introduced and she simply waved.

"What you doin' here anyway? Thought you were gonna be at camp first thing."

"We went there an' Cripps said you were here with.. you know."

"Nice seein' you two." Lem rolled his eyes and walked off, muttering a few swears under his breath. "Wouldn't kill you once in a while to be nice to him every once in a while." She warned, having decided that she was now finished with their conversation and leaving them to talk with Arthur.

She found Lem back inside the general store, buying himself some whiskey. "I'm sorry about them, Lemuel."

"I-It's fine."

"You know it isn't."

He looked at her. "You an' me b-both know that apologising on their behalf ain't gonna do shit."

"But it helps to know that somebody cares enough to say sorry." Nora crossed her arms as she stepped closer with a gentle smile. When she was near enough she put her hand around his shoulders. "I'll talk with 'em again an' if they continue, shoot them."

"I'll try not too, but no promises." He joked and in return she let out a quiet laugh. "I'll see you outside."

She waved goodbye as she stepped back onto the street and with no surprises saw her two brother's already bickering amongst themselves with Arthur awkwardly trying to break up their quarrel.

She approached Mary-Beth who looked amused with the ordeal. "What'd they do?" Nora asked and speaking gently she answered; explaining that they had a disagreement over who did most the work in their bounty hunting trip. 

"I'd leave now as they're gonna be at this for a while, it's best to just go."

"What about Arthur?" Looking forward she saw how he had still been trying to defuse the situation with no luck. She whistled and when he looked over she waved her hand to beckon him, which he obliged. 

"They're gonna be doin' this forever Mister Morgan, it's best you leave."

"What about you?"

"Trust me, I'm gonna go too."

"You sure?"

She gave a small nod. "Yeah, when Lem comes I'll grab him an' run." She waved the two of them goodbye as soon as they left and the minute Lem emerged from inside the general store she had him taken around the back where Casper waited.

* * *

_She drank the whiskey for the last time that night, letting out a celebratory cheer. Lem sat by her side while Maggie had since retreated to her room for the night, worrying that they were being too loud he took Nora by the hand to walk her out._

_"We did it, Fike!" She cried as they entered the cool night air and he chuckled in turn as he finished the last drop out of his whiskey bottle._

_"Guess we did, haha."_

_She looked at him, gently nudging his arm with her shoulder. "That explosion weren't your fault, you do know this right?"_

_His expression turned to sad and gently he looked away. "No it was." He sighed. "The whole thing had been my idea, miss. If I hadn't have snapped then you wouldn't have gotten hurt."_

_"Anythin' could have happened there, I knew the risk when I agreed to the job in the first place." She took hold of his hand, running her thumb against the back of it. "But I came out okay, as did you."_

_"But you could've gotten killed 'cause of me." She shook her head. "Trust me, I got more injured from Hixon's men than that explosion."_

_He gave out a defeated sigh. "You ain't mad?"_

_She shook her head. "Never could be."_


	8. Chapter 8

Nora had returned to camp with Lem not long before her brother's had done. Their argument cut short when they realised that they had been left alone in Valentine.

Cripps greeted the brother's fondly when they arrived; his arms open wide for a hug. "It is good to see you both!" He cheered, taking them by their shoulders and walking them further into the camp to catch up. 

"They're gonna be chattin' all night, I reckon you and I could slip away from 'em all completely unnoticed." She commented as the pair of them watched from a distance.

"M-Most likely." He muttered.

She nodded gently, patting his shoulder before walking away to sit back in her tent. Seeing as her brothers weren't fond of him and he had no place of his own to lie low for a little while he had taken to sit on the chair just outside, close enough to still talk with her if he needed.

"You don't gotta sit out there, I don't mind you sitting in here." She called out towards him.

"I feel a little i-intrusive jus' entering your tent."

Nora gently chuckled at his comment, stepping closer and leaning against the post to get a better look at him. "I'm inviting you in, there's no intruding."

"Guess you're right."

She noticed the forlorn look on his face and left the cover of her tent to stand in front of him. She placed her hands on her hips and crouched to be at a similar level as he was, even though it only made her smaller. "What's with the long face?"

He hummed as he looked at her, but gave no immediate response. Instead his hand reached forward to brush a strand of her red hair behind her ear, it coming loose from her braid. "I'm okay, perhaps a little exhausted."

"We done a lot of work today."

"You done a-a lot of work.. I guess I'm jus' getting old."

"You've barely turned twenty-nine." She chuckled. "Don't remind me." He whined after this but she remained amused.

"There any other reasons or are you just tired."

"That's the only reason, Nora Morgan."

She wasn't convinced by his constant reassurance but chose to not continue with the topic anyway. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

He nodded.

"Why don't you play guitar in front of people?" He winced at her question despite it being innocent enough to prompt such a response. She noticed just how uncomfortable he became by it and quickly apologised from not realised the sort of response it would illicit. 

"If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have too."

"No, no." He waved away her worry. "Danny-Lee t-taught me how to play, he taught me a lot of things so it's hard to p-perform in front of other's without.. rememberin' all that drama."

"I understand." She let out a quiet sigh, hushing her voice so the men couldn't overhear. "It's not the same but I get all freaked out over the loud noises because it reminds me of that night.. but you already know all this."

They remained shrouded in an awkward silence before Nora cleared her throat and stood properly. She gently grabbed his hand to bring him inside her tent despite his best attempt not to.

"Jus' sit here."

"But-"

"Please." He couldn't be bothered to argue further, instead choosing to listen and sit on the edge of her cot as per instruction. She left shortly after and he thought about leaving to return to the moonshine shack but the thought of upsetting her kept him from doing so. Later, she returned with two bowls of stew freshly made.

"Cripps had me bring these over, I was on my way to grab the harmonica."

"Did you grab it?"

"No; Cripps' need to talk with me made me forget." She let out a quiet sigh. "Regardless, I did enjoy his brief story."

"What story did he tell this time?"

"Only that damn Tennessee bank job one." Lem laughed at her answer as he took the bowl from her hand. She sat next to him and prodded at the chunks of meat for a little bit. "I swear for someone who has seen a lot, he only ever tells the same little stories."

"They are his best; he used to have more a few years back but he's forgotten them it seems."

"That's right. You've known him for a while isn't that right?"

"Yeah." He nodded, taking a mouthful of stew to pause the conversation. "Him and Aunt Maggie were meant to be married once."

"Cripps said when I first met Maggie."

"What a disaster that had been." He explained, vaguely. He noticed her face and how she silently urged him to continue. "Cripps decided that he didn't want to marry, Aunt Maggie. She didn't take too fondly on his decision neither but at least they reconciled."

"Sorta." Nora added. "They have their moment here and there."

"Don't most people?"

"Guess so."

* * *

In the following day's she had begun to spend more time with Arthur Morgan and a few of his associates. Dutch still made her feel at an unexplainable unease whenever he was near, but she figured that perhaps she wasn't as good as a judge of character as she thought. 

Regardless, she began to spend longer at camp, these people slowly warming up to her presence on their grounds. While most of the men still were wary the women had become far more open and talkative towards Nora and she soon found friends in Mary-Beth and Tilly.

"Miss Morgan." Susan called, her strides long to catch up with her as she prepared to leave after a few days of staying. She pulled on the reins of her horse and looked down. "Yes?"

"I hate to be a bother, but John Marston has asked for you and Arthur to meet in Valentine."

"Me?"

"Yes you, do you know anyone else here named Nora Morgan?"

"No... It's just I hadn't expected him to ask for me."

Susan's lips tightened into a frown. "Neither did I." She stormed off and given that she had no other plans for that evening she had decided to ride out towards the livestock town where she was expected.

* * *

"Marston." Nora greeted when she neared him. He gave her a subtle salute with his fingers, gently waving her over. She noticed how Arthur had yet to arrive and so she took a moment to engage in idle conversation. 

"I must admit, I was confused as to why you asked for my help with whatever it is you got planned."

"Arthur praises you a lot, figured in the chance of something going wrong that you'd be good to have around."

"Trust me." She let out a sigh. "Of all the people back at camp I'm not the best option."

"Don't make me think that, Miss."

When Arthur did arrive they didn't waste time by engaging in idle conversation, rather they chose to get the job started as soon as they could and that way they would have time for conversations later. However, John wasn't very descriptive in what it was they needed to do as he kept his answers short and simple. At first Nora thought it was about sheep coming in but when he told Arthur to purchase a rifle she began to have second thoughts. 

They rode out soon after, leaving the town and turning around the mountain into the open plains of the Heartlands where Arthur had asked a second time what this job had been for. "Some sheep are comin' in from Emerald Ranch." He explained finally, but Nora zoned out soon after this as the mention of the all too familiar Ranch how disinterested her.

She hadn't been paying all that much attention until John had called for her and from the annoyed expression she had gathered that he had been calling for her a couple of times. "Miss Morgan." He shouted again, this time louder and she looked forward with an apologetic smile. "Do you have any experience with herding cattle?"

"Some.. done it once mainly. Why?"

John frowned but Arthur only chuckled. "This dumbass here doesn't know either. If we need it you can help."

"Of course."

He smiled at her before turning back to focus on the roads just in time as John had pulled them off of it and up a ledge. She remained mounted while the men approached the edge to look at what they believed to be the herd and a few ranch hands coming in and by luck, it had been.

The job was for Arthur to shoot near them and spook them off which had gone well, the problem was herding near fifteen sheep back to the livestock in one piece which could have been a problem and for the better part of this journey all Arthur and John would do was bicker back and forth about everything and nothing. She grew tired off their chatter and took to riding a little further forward, making sure that the sheep were still heading the right direction while Arthur did most the work.

* * *

Nora accompanied them back into town, following them into the smaller saloon where Dutch Van Der Linde had been supposedly waiting. She didn't need to go in with the men, after all, it wasn't her who he needed to speak with and so she waited outside for the men.

She lit a cigarette to pass the time, focused on the horses and people that passed by rather than anything else. John and Strauss left the saloon and briefly greeted Nora and telling her that she could go inside if she so pleased. She was going to but when a group of armed men showed up with Leopold and John held in their grasp she saw no other alternative but to raise her hands in false surrender.

"Dutch Van Der Linde!" One man, dressed far too fancy for being in Valentine called out. She looked behind her at the window and noticed the man he called remained at the table, albeit confused. 

"You don't know me, but you keep robbing from me!" He shouted again.

She didn't pay too much attention to the conversation shared, too much focus on John and Strauss who were balancing on the edge of death. Eventually Dutch did come from inside the saloon with Arthur in tow, using his natural charm to try and sway the enemy.

Before she could even process anything Arthur had quickly shot at the two men who held Strauss and Marston and all hell broke loose as the fighting began.

She quickly threw herself over the railings to duck behind some of the boxes that lay conveniently on the ground, crouching low near Leopold. The shooting gradually got louder and she grew more uneasy, more afraid and she had a job to steady her breathing during the ordeal but it didn't stop her from helping. 

Getting her bearings, she raised her gun to the people and blindly fired a couple of times and from a pained scream she assumed that she had caught somebody. However, hiding here wasn't going to do any good and the horses had been moved across town. At Arthur's word the group all crossed the dirt roads, losing their hats in the process and unfortunately for Strauss, the ability to walk properly as a bullet became lodged in his leg.

She stumbled for a moment as she came to a halt to help Dutch move the man from being exposed. Cursing a couple of times as she carried the man towards a wagon. "Place him in here, John and Arthur, shoot." Dutch instructed. Nora pushed Strauss inside and began to push the wagon through the town, it being used as perfect cover during their escape.

"Keep shooting." Nora cried, struggling to keep focus on keeping the members alive during this shootout and not crumble through fear with the hail of bullets that rained over them. Her breathing became more erratic but they pushed on, the horses in sight although jumpy. "When we get to the horses, put Strauss on Nora's horse and you two stay behind!" Dutch sent another instruction and the male nodded. He pointed at Nora. "Come back to camp with me, we're gonna need the help."

"Of course."

When the opportunity arrived they grabbed it, fleeing the wagon and running towards the horses to calm them as they bucked wildly from the gunfire. Wasting no time, Arthur picked up Strauss from the wagon and broke into a sprint as best as he could towards the animals, sitting Strauss on the back of Casper. Nora mounted up and followed Dutch out of town while Arthur and John remained.

They arrived at camp quickly, the horses tired from how hard they were pushed and immediately Nora rewarded them both with a sugar cube. "Men!" Dutch called and immediately Javier and Bill ran over and with Dutch's word helped Strauss off of the horse and over to Miss Grimshaw to help with the wound.

The camps leader turned sharply on his heel and pointed a long finger towards the O'Driscoll as he sat against a rock. Kieran looked up with wide eyes, thinking that he was in trouble for whatever reason at the harsh glare cast on him. "You and Miss Morgan here pack up Arthur's wagon, prepare the caravan to leave and the horses." He told before walking off and approaching the women with more commands. Nora turned back with a gentle smile as she noticed the scared expression on his face. "Wanna make a start on Arthur's stuff?"

"Yes, o-of course." He managed to say, quickly walking across the camp to Arthur's wagon. She followed behind with a small smile and began to gather the bits of clutter on the tables while he focused on the larger things.

* * *

She carried a few rolls of blankets into the wagon ahead while he placed the chest he had his clothes in and a few other materials belonging to John. Seeing as this was their only instruction they were lost on what else to do but sought out more work regardless.

Kieran found work in fixing the wheel on Strauss' wagon whereas Nora chose to accompany the women in packing up the final of their belongings. While she did so she was ready to approach Arthur once she noticed his return but stopped herself when he and Dutch began talking. No sooner than he had been there he had left again, this time with Charles and from a passing comment exchanged between the two she picked up that they were on their way to find a new camp.

* * *

"You were right about this spot, Charles." The caravan arrived a few hours after Charles and Arthur set out. The majority of their journey making up most of that time spent on their way here. 

Kieran, while still not trusted, was allowed to move to Clemens Point untied albeit he sat in the back of the wagon alone in contrast to those who were able to travel together. While Strauss and Swanson did sit at the front they spent the journey ignoring the former O'Driscoll but would converse loudly amongst themselves.

When the wagon stopped he looked around before climbing out and with those long, authoritative steps, Dutch approached. "Take care of the horses, O'Driscoll." Oh how he detested that nickname.

"Grimshaw!" He called after. "Let's make this camp a home!" He detached the horses from the wagon's and when few gang members rode in shortly after, he made sure to take care of them more so out of his love for the animal than duty.

"Hello, fella." Nora greeted as she stepped closer.

"Hey, Nora."

"Mind some company?"

"No, 'c-course not." 

She sat near him on the rock while he brushed through the dirt on Branwen. His eyes fixated on the horse in front of him rather than on the girl who spoke to him.

"What do you do 'round here Kieran?"

"W-Well I mainly take care of the horses a-and do most the chores. Why?"

"Jus' making conversation." Kieran finally worked up the courage to turn around and face her. "May I ask why you chose to speak with me miss an' nobody else?"

"You seemed lonely, but I can leave you lonely if you rather it."

His face, which had been screwed up previously, softened slightly and for once he was able to relax as he noticed the genuine kindness come from her. "I don't mind a bit of company miss."

"Good because I probably would have stuck around regardless." She chuckled, watching him as he resumed tending to the horses. "Say, Kieran." He turned back to face her, slightly annoyed with having to stop tending to the horses.

"Yes, miss?"

"Do you like fishin'?" His face lit up at the question. "W-Well I do. But I doubt I'd be allowed too."

"Nonsense." She chuckled. "Stick with me an' none of 'em will give ya grief and we can invite Arthur along."

"I doubt Mr. Morgan would want to spend any time fishin' with me, Miss."

"Ask enough times and I'm sure Arthur will." She noticed Kieran's face drop as she said this. She raised a brow and thought she may have said something wrong, but quickly Arthur spoke up from behind her. "Arthur will what?"

She startled at his words before turning around. "I was discussing fishing with Kieran here."

Arthur's frown only tightened as if he hadn't quite caught on with what she meant. "Taking Kieran fishing and the idea of askin' you to tag along was brought up."

"Now?"

"No, not now." She crossed her arms, giving a gentle shrug. "Maybe next week or somethin', I got business back home but I can make time. If he's allowed to go that is."

"The O'Driscoll can go but I'll keep an eye on him." Nora cheered and clapped her hands, but Kieran wasn't too thrilled with the idea. "Grand, if it's alright with you both I'm gonna bring Lemuel along."

"Lemuel?" She nodded towards Arthur, a bright smile on her face. "My friend, he's been a bit glum as of late an' I think a fishing trip'll help."

"Alright, but don't go bringin' your entire posse down here."

"I ain't gonna, jus' Lemuel and I."

He still looked displeased but nodded regardless, accepting these terms of hers. "Lem's an alright fella, we spoke."

"Exactly." She looked over at Casper as he lazily grazed at the grass. "I must head off now, but I'll see you both soon." She looked over at Kieran now and gently placed her hand on his forearm.

"You don't worry 'bout these fools, they all act tough but I come to learn that it's nothin' more than an act." She gave him a gentle smile, retracting her hand. "I don't know 'em that well, but I reckon things will be fine an' even if they ain't, s'pose I got your back."

"T-Thank you."

She gave him a warm look. "Don't worry about thankin' me, it's the decent thing to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Lem quickened his pace to catch up with Nora, not willing to remain behind with the quivering Kieran and that warning glare Arthur held towards him. "Remind me again why we're doin' this?"

"Fishing?" She turned to look over at Lem who only stared blankly forward. "It's a nice break from all the workin' and I thought you wouldn't mind a day to jus' relax."

"Aunt Maggie won't be too thrilled if we're lazing about, mind and besides you k-know I ain't so keen on fishin'." He spared a glance over his shoulder, looking at how tense and stiff Kieran was as he walked behind them. Nora abruptly came to a halt which caught the group off guard, she turned towards Arthur and Kieran and waved them closer. "You two go ahead an' find a good spot." They nodded at her instructions and left the pair alone.

When gone, Nora took Lem's hand gently and pulled him from the path and over to a rock near to sit on. "One, Aunt Maggie wouldn't mind you havin' a break every once in a while and two, you don't gotta fish or stay.. I ain't gonna force ya."

"I'll stay but I won't fish." She chuckled slightly and placed her palm against his cheek. "You an' I can sit on the beach then."

"Sure."

* * *

She found the men a little bit aways from Clemens Point, already preparing the equipment they brought for their little trip. Kieran had been the one to spot her as she approached and to be kind he gave both her and Lem a gentle wave.

"Nice spot you found here." She complimented and subtly Kieran had turned a darker shade of pink.

"It was more Kieran than me." Arthur pointed towards the male as he said this and Nora turned towards Duffy after being told so. "Well, it is a lovely spot."

To prevent himself from becoming more flustered, Kieran had to move further away from the group than he would like. At first Arthur opened his mouth to shout at the "O'Driscoll" but when he noticed the pink tint to his cheek and the more-than-usual nervey expression, he had realised that Kieran needed to move away from them so he wouldn't embarrass himself. He was definitely going to tease him about this in the future. 

Nora sat crossed legged on the grass behind where as Lem sat in front, using his knee to rest his arm. "You two ain't fishin'?" Arthur asked them, when he noticed them sitting by.

Nora raised a hand and shook her head. "I'm poor at it and Lem ain't necessarily a big fisherman neither."

Kieran turned around with a subtle frown, extending hid hand forward even though she was too far to take it. "Come on, why don't you join in for a bit?" He called but she refused.

"I can show you some of my tricks."

Arthur heard his comment and quickly looked over with a warning look in his eye. "These tricks better be appropriate now, Kieran." And at this the man's face had turned a dark red and Nora bursted out into a hearty-laugh from it.

"I-It's not like that, Mister." He tried to defend but realised that the man had only been teasing when he too, broke out into a laugh.

Kieran abruptly looked away to hide the shame and focused entire on his fishing instead of Nora and the other's. "It ain't right." He muttered under his breathe but the other's didn't hear him anyway.

Nora stood between the two men, her hands on her hips as she inspected the calm waters and from across the way she noticed Mary-Beth standing with a coffee in hand, waving gently at them which she reciprocated with a bright smile. 

Nothing much had been said amongst them, but there was no awkward silence amongst them rather, it was a nice feeling as they enjoyed their fishing.

"What in the." Kieran commented and both she and Lem looked over at him as his eyes inspected the waters. "That fellers as naked as a jay bird."

Her eyes landed on the person he spoke about once he swam near enough to be seen. "Oh my." She mumbled, turning away whereas Arthur had said "Is this why you like this spot?"

His comment went unheard however, and even then Lem had risen to see what the fuss was about only to be shocked at what he saw. Arthur called out to the naked man as he neared the line and so he stopped to talk with the group, much to their dismay.

"You know, there's this real impressive bluegill over that way!" The man extended his arms outwards to demonstrate it's size but ended up going under the water, Nora took a step forward out of habit and the man quickly resurfaced, everything a little too much on show. "Alright thank you, feller." The man swam away after Arthur's thanks and all excited, Kieran got ready to move over to that new spot recommended. 

"I know where that is!" The man cheered. "Come on, we'll check it out now."

Just as excited as he was, Nora eagerly mounted her horse to follow behind the man as he led the group through more trees and to another beach for them to fish on. They looked over at the water for a moment and to their surprise saw an extraordinary bluegill break the surface, significantly larger than most other bluegills.

Kieran looked bewildered at the fish and his joy grew at the idea of catching such a beast. "Let's go f-fish from the beach there."

"If you say so."

"I'd recommend using a lure for this, bread an' cheese won't do but we may get lucky.. who knows."

Nora had stood more so next to Kieran on the beach rather than anybody else while he fished. Arthur looked on over at the two and gently smiled at how much Kieran had relaxed while they were out. Sure he had still displayed being nervous and tried avoiding eye contact at all times, but he was a lot less tense while out here and more happy with Nora by his side.

Arthur would say allowed that he didn't trust the "O'Driscoll" and yet here he was, enjoying himself with the man he claimed to dislike. Awkwardly, he cleared his throat and turned towards Kieran while he looked with bright eyes towards the waters. "Who taught you how to fish anyway?"

"My Pappy, mostly." The man answered. "But he died when I was real young."

Nora frowned at this and noticed the sadness cloud behind the smile. She gently gave him a pat on the shoulder. "My mammy died too, cholera, nasty business."

"Your mammy?"

"Like I said, I was young."

Nora looked forward, inspecting the ripples in the water as the fish came to feed and the insects landed on it. "I lost my parents when I was.. fifteen maybe?" She quickly sighed. "My father was a drunk, alway's so angry. One day he and my mam went out an' never came back."

"I still had Aunt Marge. She looked after my two brother's and I until I turned eighteen and then I raised them from there." The men remained silent as she told her story, just as they had done for when Kieran told his.

"Somewhere I did something wrong because my brother's are.. well, they ain't great people."

"How d'you mean?" Kieran asked. 

"Well, they love to tease Lem over nothin' and other things."

"S'pose that's m-most people. They'd get along wonderfully with the guys at camp."

Arthur looked over with a scowl. "Watch what you say, boy."

"Sorry." Kieran issued but it went ignored when Arthur began focusing on the fish he had hooked. It was a struggle to reel him in, undoubtedly a struggler and hoping it too be the bluegill the group had gathered around Arthur to spectate.

They stood and stared aimlessly at the water, waiting for the creature to be reeled in and eventually it had. Arthur wasted no time in bringing him back to shore, unhooking him and raising him up to inspect such a magnificent fish.

"Holy shit you actually caught it!" Duffy cheered, admiring the creature from his place. Arthur chuckled and wrapped the fish in a cloth to keep in his satchel, ready to take it back to camp for provisions. "I did."

Nora clapped slowly as she gathered the fishing rods for them to all put away, sending congratulations to the man over his excellent catch. "Time to head on back now, boy's." She said, slipping their fishing rods in the respective saddlebags. "We should go out fishin' again sometime, or maybe just go out and do somethin' fun."

Arthur agreed with this, taking the reins of his horse to lead him back to camp. "We should, I'll see you pair around but for now I gotta make sure the other's all know that I kept the O'Driscoll alive."

"I ain't an O'Driscoll." Kieran sighed.

Nora waved them off as they rode away, before turning back to Lem who had taken to idly stare at the calm waters.

* * *

_She rolled onto her side, his back facing towards her and gently she reached forward to poke his arm. "Lem?" She whispered, afraid to wake any of the other people who slept nearby as well as disturb him just in case he had been asleep._

_He turned over, looking at her through tired eyes and she wondered if she had woke him. "Did I bother you?"_

_He shook his head. "Couldn't sleep."_

_"Me neither." She turned to lie on her back, facing the stars up above._

_"E-Everythin' okay?"_

_"Not particularly, Lemuel." She chuckled. "Another nightmare?" And gently she nodded._

_"Come here." He beckoned, holding his arm up for her to roll into him. She shuffled closer and rolled over to stare directly into his eyes, feeling drastically safer once she found herself closer with the male. "Go to sleep. I'm r-right here with you."_

_"Only of you sleep too." She whispered, the exhaustion already washing over. He hummed his agreement as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. "I will."_

_"Thank you."_


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice chapter this one.. hope you all like it.

_She lurched forward in fear, the frosty night air a stark contrast to the warmth she felt moments prior. She clung helplessly to the collar of her nightgown, twisting the buttons and the threads as she frantically sought out the calm before the storm. Her breathing only grew more laboured as she tried finding a steady breath; but the darkness only crawled back towards her and the nightmares began to haunt her once more._

_The grip only tightened and she tried thinking back to what Lem would tell her, always saying to not focus on the negative thoughts and rather the positive one's but she struggled to find them and the darkness kept closing in..._

_But the darkness would not dare cross with the light. Never would the darkness cross it, for it feared it and Nora was fortunate in the soft glow of dying embers from the campfire. It beckoned her closer, promising safety and comfort in its embrace and slowly she staggered from her bed to walk over to it. But the fire was dying and the light was being snuffed out and when it was gone, nothing would stop the darkness._

_The tears rolled freely down her cheeks and she didn't have the effort to wipe them away, letting them fall and stain her pretty face. "It's late." She turned sharply but saw no face in the darkness, only a shadow. The voices were twisted, she recognized many and none at all, had this been the darkness all along? Those she trusted and loved?_

_"Couldn't sleep."_

_"Isn't that a shame."_

_The shadow stepped closer but not close enough to be seen, but it's voice she remembered. "Who are you?" She called out it, but the question went ignored._

_"The light won't last long, Nora." It taunted, speaking softly in the voice of Lem who she trusted the most out of the voices it threw at her._

_The shape disappeared and reappeared behind her, throwing more taunts her way and as the fire grew dim and the darkness spread wider the silhouette stepped closer and eventually there was no light to protect her and she had been lost in a work of darkness and nightmares that plagued her dreams._

* * *

He rushed to her company the very minute her screams had awoken her. He feared the worse as he opened the tent to walk inside but relief washed over once he noticed that she visibly appeared uninjured.

She still twisted and flailed her arms wildly as if struggling to fight off something and yet all that was around her was air. He knew he needed to do something, but what could he do? She was still asleep and abruptly waking her up from her nightmare wouldn't do but maybe it's what needed to be done. 

Gently he walked across the wooden pallets until was standing next to her cot and carefully he placed the palm of his hand on her cheek. "Easy, now." He whispered, calming her down so she would stop frantically attacking the air. He kept it up before actually waking her, figuring that it would be better that way.

When she did wake up she had shot up so quickly to look around the inside of the tent, her breathing unsteady as she tried to grasp at the oxygen she failed to get. When her eyes did land on Lem she visibly relaxed but her breath remained ragged.

"I'm here." He said, sitting next to her on the cot. She threw her arms around him the minute she could and began to softly cry into his shoulder and he would carefully wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer, running his hand in circles on her back to help calm her down. "I'm here, Nora."

He would repeat it several times as it helped, he noticed that she felt more comfortable by being reminded that he wouldn't leave not unless she wished him to go and even then, he wouldn't want to wander too far from her when she was in this state. "Another nightmare?" He didn't need to ask as he knew the answer, but he just wanted her to talk to him about it.

Her voice was quiet and weakly she gave her answer. "Yes."

"Do you want to t-tell me what it was about?"

"I.. I'm not even sure." She pulled away from his embrace, sitting up properly and hanging her head low in mock-shame. "I remember a shadow.. darkness. Oh, it's all so very silly."

"I don't think it's silly."

He gently grabbed her chin and tilted her face up until she was looking back at him and he gave her a kind smile that she felt calm enough to reciprocate. "It's never silly."

"Why are you so kind to me?" She whispered.

"Why wouldn't I be?" He feigned taking offence to her question but laughed regardless. "I'd be kind to anybody.. unless they're a bastard."

"In which case you end up settin' a trap off on yourself."

"That time was an accident." She chuckled at his reply, gently nodding her agreement with him. "I know."

It felt too premature to ask the question, but he needed to check up on her for the worry within still hadn't settled. "How are you?"

"If I'm honest.. not grand."

They both sat in silence for the best part of an additional five minutes before Nora finally worked up the courage to ask what worried her the most. "C-Can you do me a favour?"

"Of course."

"This is silly.. but I don't want to be alone." Her lip quivered as she fought back tears, putting on a brave face despite everything else being so blatantly obvious that brave just wasn't how she was feeling right now. "Please lie down with me a while."

He wasn't so sure how to verbally answer her but he was capable of nodding and she looked happy that he agreed to her request, even though she wouldn't mind if he had said 'no.' So, she moved as far back as the cot would allow to give him some space.

This hadn't been the first time Nora asked him to lie until she slept and he doubted that it would end up the last.

He stalled for a bit.. too awkward to lie next to her but eventually he had done so, shifted to get comfortable and used his arm to act as a pillow. She smiled up at him, slowly closing her eyes and eventually she felt safe enough to fall into slumber again.

He remained by her side, just in case she woke to another nightmare again as the night had still been young. He worried come morning when this would need to be explained but he was sure he could slip away before then.

He couldn't sleep. He never could, not with her so close to him. He focused on everything else in the tent, such as the moonlight breaking through a few holes in the fabric or the decorations she had around the place like the flowers on the desk or the sheet music from her piano playing.

* * *

_"The flames just got higher." He told, trying best not to cry as he recounted Maggie's story. Nora remained quiet as usual, allowing him to tell while she focused on riding back to the moonshine shack, taking a route far from the road so they couldn't be traced._

_"I can't believe it.. Aunt Maggie." He said once more, still unable to fathom the idea of his aunt being alive who he himself watched burn alive. There was no way that this could be some sick practical joke if this individual risked her life to save him from a prison transfer._

_He let out a quiet sigh of relief, before directly addressing this stranger who rescued him. "Thank you for savin' me, miss." She nodded, still maintaining this mysterious aura about her. "But may I ask h-how you know my Aunt Maggie?"_

_"A mutual friend introduced us."_

_"And this mutual friend is?"_

_She didn't want to answer and probably wouldn't had it been any other person, but something compelled her to reply. "JB Cripps."_

_"Cripps? He's still alive?"_

_"Yes." She chuckled a little, amused by his reaction. Lem laughed with her but returned to that familiar silence when she stopped._

_Eventually, they arrived at the moonshine shack and he frowned when he recognised it as one of their old ones. But he trusted Aunt Maggie, enough to put the worry and fears from six years prior behind him, too exhausted to even focus on them now._

_They dismounted and using her for support, entered the moonshine shack. His excitement getting the best of him when he called out. "Aunt Maggie!"_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains spoilers for Chapter 3 mission; A short walk in a pretty town.
> 
> Warnings: Contains depictions of violence. Please read at your own risk as this one can be viewed as unsettling.

In took a day or more's journey to travel as far as Rhodes from the business she underwent back at Valentine. Even longer due to Maggie's distraction.

The female hitched her horse near the Gunsmith, noticing the unsettling silence that haunted the town. Nobody could be seen for miles and the store's looked empty whenever she peered through the windows inside. She wondered why Arthur sent the letter, requesting for her help, given that there was not a soul around.

“Hello?” She called out for nothing, expecting something to call back to her. Silence was met and so she decided to walk deeper, seeing where the men she was meant to meet lurked. “Arthur?.. Sean?”

She saw them eventually, hiding near a building all talking amongst themselves. She smiled at Sean and took a stand near him before whistling for her horse to trot on over to where they waited. She tethered him to the correct post, standing near. “How are you feelin' gentlemen?”

Micah snorted the minute she opened her mouth, gripping his gun belt and kicking his leg up onto a crate near to trap her between him and her animal. “Jus' fine, yourself?”

She tried not to visibly cringe once he spoke up, but could not help but scrunch up her nose in disgust. She used the tip of her finger to push him away. “I was doin' so much better before you started talkin', Mr. Bell.”

“I feel like we've gotten close enough, call me Micah.” He grinned and she had to bite her tongue to not snap back at him. “Of course, I'd like to know you.. a _little_ better.”

“A shame I'm gettin' to know Kieran a _little_ better first.” And Sean let out a roar of a laugh at her subtle way of dismissing his offer, this displeasing Micah enough that he left her alone.

"I am only kidding of course." She made it known so none of them would go ahead and tease the poor boy when they returned to camp, after all he was not considered highly amongst the group and the last thing he needed was someone taking her words the wrong way.

Micah snorted again before walking away from the female, ignoring her subtle giggles from behind and taking the lead with Sean on their walk into town. It had been far too quiet for Nora's liking before but now, while they were exposed like how they were.. well she felt more uneasy than ever. 

“None of it feels right.” She mumbled under her breathe, going unnoticed by the others. They talked before Arthur raised his voice over them, finally addressing the situation and repeating what Nora had said earlier. Sean turned around. “Now none of it feels right?” His accent was thicker here but before anyone had time to process what they were saying and shot rang out, setting them into ‘fighter’ mode. Nobody had noticed Sean, yet.

She covered her ears as she followed the men behind cover, finally taking a moment to compose herself and assess the situation. Here, she counted visible faces and let out a choked sob when she counted one short; Sean not being present. Nora faced Arthur, fear reflecting in his eyes and through a shaky voice managed to ask him the dreaded question. “Where's Sean?” He frowned; not asking and instead taking her deeper into the alley they hid in once the bullets to close to be comfortable. 

“We'll worry about Sean later.. are you okay to fight? I feel we got half the family after us.” She slowly nodded to answer. “Good.”

He ran out of the alley, both revolvers in hand and began to fire blindly down the road. She watched until he disappeared around the corner, taking a shaky breath she soon followed, her revolver in hand.

“Sean.” Her voice was small once she noticed the boy lying in the dirt, an unmistakable pool of blood around him and only growing. With the little strength she had left she managed to force herself into hiding behind a few crates, her vision growing more blurry from the tears that kept falling. She wasn't even trying to hit anything, only shooting behind her to make it seem as though she was helping but in reality she was only trying to not black out as she alway's does. Her voice was called by an invisible creature, sounding similar to Lem but not quite her friend but it was familiar enough to feel safe.. she focused on it, it repeating one phrase over and over. ‘Come back to me, Nora.’ The very thing Lemuel had said that night with the flammable-moonshine explosion. It kept her distracted and it kept her awake..

“Stay low, girl.” Arthur seemingly appeared from nowhere, crouching by her side and shooting in any direction he heard bullets. He knew of what happened to Nora in situations like this, seeing it many times before and when the reality of Sean's fate kicked in the thought of preventing Nora's emerged. “I'm stayin' low. Make way to the General Store and sneak around the back through there, bastards are hidin' away where we can't see 'em.”

“And risk endin' up like Sean?”

“You can stay here, but I'm going. Prevent you lot endin' up like the kid.” With that she made haste over to the shop, ignoring Arthur's cries for her to run back. It was silent inside but that didn't mean she weren't careful creeping through, her gun entering or leaving a room before she did at all times. She presumed that Micah and Bill dealt with a lot of the Gray's as the numbers were thinner now, but that didn't mean she didn't take out any herself.. feeling no guilt in doing so either.

“Bastards.” She cursed under her breath as she searched for the remaining bunch.. slowly finding one cowering behind a few barrels. He begged for his life, raising his hands in the air. She staggered for a moment, moving to holster her weapon and the man began to thank her for her “generousity” yet Sean had so much stripped away from him and she remembered it quickly. She put the gun away, opting for a more *satisfying kill and using her knife, she placed the steel against the man's neck and cut as deep as allowed. His blood ran down her hands, onto her lap and he fell lifeless.

She didn't notice the blood, didn't care for it.

* * *

“Where's Williamson?” She asked; met with silence from the two men who provided no answer.

“Well..?”

“We don't know, lady. Why, you gonna kill him too?” Micah spat and without thinking she lunged towards, gripping the lapels of his jacket and pushing him back. He made contact with the side of the wall, gasping with the wind knocked out of him and not expecting such a small woman to have this much strength, she was almost as feisty as Mrs. Adler and he admired her for it. “No, but I'll kill you asshole.” She shouted and finally Arthur stepped in, wrapping his arm around Nora and pulling her off of the antagonistic individual. 

“You're fucking crazy, woman.” Micah hadn't learned his lesson. 

“Enough!” Arthur yelled; scowling at the pair of them. “Let's find Bill and get out of here.”

“Whatever.” Nora grunted, walking past the men and back down towards the gunsmith. Arthur watched after her, maintaining a distance as he soon followed behind. She wasn't in any place to be alone right now and he knew it.

“Stop right there!” Sherrif Gray in his bitter tone called out, revolver pointed straight for Nora. She froze in her tracks and raised her hands, looking at the group with a fake smile. In some man's arms she noticed Bill and subtly pointed at him so Arthur could see.

The two finally joined her, Micah on her right and Arthur on her left so she stood perfectly infront of Leigh Gray. How she could spit at his name, a disgusting roach of a man she never had any liking for.. the killing of her only friend which he allowed being the final straw and so god help her she was going to make sure he got what he owed. “You gonna let our friend go, Leigh?”

“I plan on takin' you all in.. or killin' ya if need be.” He replied; his threat meeting deaf ears. She didn't care, couldn't find it within her. “That a threat..? Or a promise?” And Micah looked over astonished as she continued teasing him.

“I ain't playin' games girl-.” Leigh began, but Nora raised her hands to dismiss him. “Never said this was no game, jus' let my friend go.”

“Ain't gonna happen.”

“Very Well.” She was quick, just as skilled as Arthur and unexpecting. A few shots were fired and the Gray's fell, some falling off of the porch of the gunsmith and onto the roads.

Bill clambered forward, completely astonished but holding thanks he needed to pass on. He placed a sweaty palm on her shoulder, reluctantly muttering a quiet ‘thanks’ and walking away.

“Sean.” She cried before running over to the body. The thrill died down and reality kicked her in the face with a steel toe cap boot. Her friend really had been killed, his face disfigured and unrecognisable and her chest tightened when she saw him laying there, on the ground. Her brave face shrivelled and she let out sobs, earning an eye roll from Micah but a gentle pat regardless. “Bill, take the boy an' get him buried. I'm gonna ride with Nora back to camp, I don't think she should be alone.”

She chuckled at Arthur's instruction, despite there being no humour behind it. “I'm twenty-four. I can look after myself.”

“Trust me, I know that. I've seen it.” He replied with a light smile. “Jus' need an excuse for me not to be seen alone cryin'.” She laughed as he tried to lighten the situation, there was no time for mourning.

“Come on, let's get you out of here.”

She managed to wipe away a small tear, following him over to Casper and climbing into the saddle without fail despite an ache in her muscles slowly kicking in. Everything coming down and having an effect. “Thank you.” She managed to whisper, following Arthur out of the town.

“It ain't nothin'.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hurt to write.. but it had to be done.


	12. Chapter 12

“What happened? We saw Bill pass through here-.” Dutch spoke quickly, pointing over to the clearing. He was frantic in his approach, talking loud and sharply. Over his shoulder, Arthur spotted Karen Jones worse than he had ever seen her.

Arthur sighed, taking Dutch by the shoulder and walking him away from the ever-growing number of people who curiously watched them. “The boy got killed.”

Dutch began to talk again, but Abigail's frantic screams cut him off as she began to demand the whereabouts of her son. Her fists were balled, ready to punch someone if need be and Hosea followed behind as he calmly explained the situation amongst Abigail's screams to know of her son's whereabouts.

Dutch cursed as it all began unravelling, first Sean gets killed and now a child ends up kidnapped. “What happened?” Arthur asked Hosea.

“That Kieran said he saw two feller's that looked like Braithwaite's take the boy.”

“So they shouldn't be too far?”

Hosea shook his head. “No.” Dutch approached his closest associates once he persuaded Abigail to calm, ignoring her desperate pleas to rescue her child so he could talk with Hosea namely. “Let's ride out and get that boy.”

Nora watched from a distance with wide eyes, her cheeks stained red from tears as she tried to process the information she overheard. Charles walked by with horses in tow, talking to Dutch and before she knew it half of the gang rode out to Braithwaite manor. Kieran and Micah were left behind to guard the place, but Grimshaw and Sadie took over that role when Micah chose to disappear and the expressed distrust on Kieran persuaded him from it.

“You saw 'em take the boy?” Nora approached with caution, sitting next to him on the beach. They told him he wasn't wanted to protect the gang but he done so regardless, just out of the way from everyone. He raised his hands quickly to tell them that he didn't mean to let them go, “I didn't m-mean it, Hosea and Arthur had dealings with them f-families.. I thought it was under control.”

“I know it ain't your fault, Kieran. Don't exactly strike me as the sort to allow boys to get kidnapped.”

“I try not to be.” He answered. 

She nodded slowly, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them she curled up into a ball. Her eyes focused on the waves crashing against the shore below, it helped calm her from the terrors of Rhodes before. “How are you feelin'?”

“Fine, why?”

“Must've been scary what you saw in Rhodes.. or what you saw. You and Sean were close.”

Nora nodded slowly. “Karen must be takin' it harder than I am. She knew him a lot _better_.”

He sat next to her, forgetting the reason he came this way in the first place. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes to focus on not crying again, having done that enough for today.

Kieran blushed heavily at the contact, lowering his hat more so it wasn't noticeable. Her breathing slowed while she remained by his side and since that moment she didn't feel dangerously close to the edge of another freakout. “Kieran.”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you somethin'?”

“Sure?” He looked down at her, noticing the shadows on her face from the sun beginning to set down on them. “Why do you stick around this bunch?”

“It's a lot safer here than anywhere e-else.” He sighed.

“You ain't got nowhere to go?”

“Not really. Doubt I'll live too long w-with these fellers. I'm not l-liked.” Nora frowned when he spoke, taking his hand to hold. He squeezed her palm a little tighter, enjoying the moment while he could as affection towards him wasn't common.

“You got a place with me if ever needed. Just know that, okay?” She told him.

He smiled in gratitude that went unnoticed, before spending the rest of the evening watching the sunset.

* * *

“Dutch Van Der Linde!” Kieran looked over, pausing his reading to learn of the commotion. Mary-Beth who had been teaching scowled at first, thinking he was giving up but she soon spotted an unfriendly individual entering the camp with Karen and Charles escorting him.

Hosea and Dutch who had been talking with their “sons”, looked over and Arthur frowned when he recognised the individual with them.

“I know them.” Nora leaned forward from her stool, whispering to Mary-Beth and Kieran. “They were at the river the day Arthur and Jack went fishin', Pinkertons.”

Mary-Beth gasped when she told this and slowly rose to join the slowly growing crowd of individuals as they followed Dutch to trap these agents in a circle, Kieran and Nora soon joining. They were quiet, listening with open ears as Milton attempted to persuade Dutch to turn himself in; the promise for everyone else to move on and free but like fools they didn't fall for this trick, it was nothing but an empty promise compared to Dutch's lies of a better life, lies only Nora noticed.

One more word seemed to upset each individual and soon everyone pulled their weapons from the holster's, holding them ready and cocked to shoot. At a visible unease Milton announced his departure, leaving a warning of his return with a hundred men before disappearing amongst the trees. “We need to leave here. Arthur!” He called and the man came rushing to his side. “Take Marston, Take Morgan and find us a new home.”

“Morgan?” He questioned, forgetting Nora to have shared a name with him before his leader pointed at the female who had a met them with a dazed glare. He nodded, calling John to sort the horses.

“Ride with us, Nora? We gotta move.” While he tried to sound like she had an option she noticed the command straight away but she wouldn't have refused had she been allowed to choose. She gently nodded, taking her revolver off of a crate and waving a ‘goodbye’ to Mary-Beth and Kieran. “Where we headed?”

“An old plantation house.”

“Shady-Belle?”

“You heard of it?” He sounded surprised as she shared the name, but figured that as she grew up here such locations wouldn't be a mystery. “Of course.. place creeps me out.” She answered, mounting up and following Arthur out of Clemens Point. They made sure not to head on a direct path to Shady-Belle in case any Pinkertons remained with plans to follow, the last thing they wanted was to drive their gang out of their new camp five minutes after settling.

* * *

When they did arrive back at the plantation house Arthur didn't expect there to be all that many raiders left. He knew that undoubtedly few would return, but not as many as what was waiting when they got to Shady-Belle. Nora cursed when she saw them, holding her rifle ready to shoot but waiting for word from Arthur to begin. 

Holding the weapon again brought back the antagonizing moment of Sean's demise, how mangled his face became and the puddle of blood that surrounded his body. They got rid of most the Gray's, a finer accomplishment in itself but the thought of that day haunted her. She gripped tight and closed her eyes to distract her from the painful memory, trying to think of something else or remember a moment in life that wasn't as unsettling as that and yet all it seemed was she lived through more hard times than she realised before. With a shaky breath and Arthur's instruction she charged towards the house, firing blindly with the intention to kill.

* * *

_“Watch what you say, girl.” Her father spat, taking another swig from his whiskey. She winced when he raised his hand, expecting it to come down on her but it never had; freezing in the air with a smug smile on his face to accompany it. “I'm sorry.” She whispered, barely loud enough to hear and her father laughed at how feeble she had became, her attitude disappearing once his hand was brought in the air._

_He grinned, pleased to have her under his control, before grabbing her shoulder and marching her out of the, his house. “I'd thrash you for that!” He took another drink of whiskey, half of the liquid spilling down his beard that began to grey. “But I'm bein' nice today.”_

_She cried when he tightened his grip before pushing her out onto the street, laughing once again as she tripped over her own feet and fell into the dusty roads. Her hands scraped against the cobble, skin raising and blood trickling through but the pain went unnoticed while she tried to bite back the sobs to appear stronger. “Clean yourself up before you step foot back into my house, come with a new attitude too or I'll see to you that you won't be able to come back.”_

_Her lower lip began to slowly quiver and a few tears fell down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the heel of her hand, before walking down the alleyway where a barrel of murky water sat. It was good enough to clean up the dirt for now and she wasn't one to care over the quality of what she had to wash in._

* * *

She ducked behind a few crates as the shooting picked up, hiding with both men as they slowly took the lead on this. “Nora, stay here and cover from outside. Me an' Marston's gonna take the inside.”

She wanted to argue, say she'd rather go inside but agreed to his plan regardless, quickly reloading her repeater before taking the off towards the right side off the house. The fight allowed her to take out the frustrations over her inability to save Sean, a great place to “let off some steam”.

She made quick work of her task and once she felt safe that there weren't any raiders outside she had moved on inside the house. The minute the doors were pushed open a loud gunshot rang out from the upstairs bedroom followed by a ‘shit’ from John Marston after it. “You boys alright up there?” She called but got no verbal answer. John and Arthur soon appeared on the landing, looking pleased but not quite happy.

“Let's clear the bodies ready for the other's, don't want 'em showin' up here with this mess.” John said just as he began to pick up one of the corpses from the floor. Arthur agreed to his statement and helped too, while Nora stood back and watched from a distance. She never was one to willingly move bodies and the two men seemed to be getting it done just fine. After he moved two bodies, John turned towards Nora, “I'll be headin' out to grab them, stay here with Arthur if you please or go where you gotta go.”

“I'll wait a while.”

He nodded, leaving them shortly after. “Mind if I clear out the inside? Doubt the other's would appreciate the dynamite and random crates blockin' everything.”

“Go ahead.” He replied. He moved one last body before using the swampy water to wash the blood from his hands and, as best as he could, from his clothes.

She pushed the doors open and let out a quiet sigh before getting started on making this house a temporary home.

* * *

Dutch rode in first on The Count, looking satisfied as he took in the outside of the house and the covered area they were moving too. He was content with this spot for now, but as of recently he also tended to move often.

“Welcome to my humble abode!” Arthur greeted his gang with open arms, approaching Dutch as soon as the male began to bark orders at everyone to get sorted.

Kieran rode with Molly which couldn't have been comfortable for any of them, but needless to say she did pass him a thankful smile as soon as he helped her down from the wagon following it by dusting some dust off of his clothes and he did nothing but chuckle nervously at the interaction before shying away to hide indoors.

“Nora.” She brought herself back to now, looking at Dutch. He placed a hand on her shoulder and began walking her over to the swampy river nearby, far from everyone else which built up this irrational worry inside. “I an' Arthur are goin' out to check out this new civilisation we hear so much about, while I'm gone I want you to make sure everyone unpacks. Think you can be in charge of all that?” He sounded so bitter as he spoke and his grip on her shoulder tightened, almost painful. It reminded her of her youth with how hard her father would hold on if he ever felt she stepped out of line.

“Yes sir..” He acted so awfully familiar to that man she grew to hate and for a brief moment, she believed she was back at her home in Blackwater. He gave her a smile, false and evil and walked away to regroup with Arthur. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before dragging herself over to Grimshaw's side.

“Miss Grimshaw.” She called and over a small bundle of bedrolls the woman peered down at her. “What is it?”

“Dutch's just put me in charge of makin' sure everyone unpacks.” Nora said before Grimshaw looked amused at the claim. “But, I can't stay and I was hopin' you take over. You're better at this than I am.”

“You know girl, you shouldn't pass your duty onto others.” She scolded and Nora looked down in shame. When she saw this, Susan softened a little and let out a quiet sigh before taking the girls chin to lift her face up. “But you ain't a member of this camp, at least.. not like any of us. You have helped a great deal though, more than most the men here. Go an' I'll Dutch I kicked you out or somethin'.”

“Thank you, miss.” Grimshaw smiled at the relief in Nora's eyes when she was told this, tutting under her breath when the girl was far away to not hear. She regathered the bundle once again as it became loose in her grip before walking over to where most the men sat, ready to set up the groups tents.

* * *

She had plans to go straight to the moonshine shack but found herself moving further away from where it stood, venturing as far as Horseshoe Overlook where she first met the majority of the gang, these people she could call friends and rely on if she ever needed it but the more she thought on it the more it seemed she was the one they relied on mostly. 

She stood over the cliff, looking down at roads below and remembered back to last year with the camp a few officers had set up here. It was just before her first meeting with Lem, unbeknownst to her at the time but it would lead to the moment that would change her life forever. “Grimshaw said you'd left, didn't say for what though.”

Nora turned to glance over her shoulder, giving the woman a gentle wave and Sadie took this as an invitation to stand by her. “How are you?”

“I feel like I could have done somethin' back there, poor Sean.”

She sighed, crouching down to pick up a handful of pebbles to throw over the cliff's edge. “Now that ain't your fault.” Nora didn't believe her and the more she tried to think about what had happened the more she felt it was her reluctance to speak louder that caused it. “It never felt right and instead of talkin' up on it sooner, Sean died. Arthur noticed too, but he said too late.”

“If everyone else noticed it bein' odd, then how is the blame only yours?”

“Because Bill and Micah are useless and Arthur, well, he got a lot on his plate right now.”

“But it ain't fair for you to take responsibility.” Sadie reasoned and Nora let out a huff at her logic, seeing the truth behind it and reluctantly accepting them. “Alway's a wise one. Weren't you?”

“Learned from Jake.” When she said her late husband's name she dropped the smile and quickly looked away, still unable to believe that he was gone. An awkward silence shrouded them both and soon they began to exchange in nervous glances, both incapable of starting a new conversation to distract them from the topic previously discussed.

“Lem's waitin', as are the twins. I really should be headin' out.” Sadie nodded, tipping her hat towards Nora. She remained at Horseshoe for a little while longer and there was this guilt Nora felt upon leaving her here, but Sadie was a strong woman and didn't need babysitting and so she left.

* * *

She returned straight to camp, rather than heading for the moonshine shack and was glad that she had done so, finding Lem sat at the fire with Cripps. They looked surprised when they saw Nora standing near, not expecting her to return so soon and hesitantly Lem stood up from the bench.

“Hey.” He mumbled and she ran forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and holding him tight. He was startled for a moment before sinking into the hug and when he did wrap his arms around her in turn she began to gently sob into his chest as the worry from Rhodes washed over. “Y-You're alright.” He began to rub gentle circles over her back, turning towards Cripps with a quizzical stare and the older man could only offer a shrug before awkwardly walking away from the group.

He stayed with her, helping to calm her down before reluctantly bringing himself to ask the question. “What happened?”

“Sean's dead, Lem.” And she broke into tears once more, the moment hitting her hard again and Lem cursed himself for asking. He squeezed tighter, his right hand moving to her head where he ran his fingers gently through her hair. “Let's get you into your tent for now, Nora.” He whispered and she slowly nodded, taking hold of his hand and following him inside. He didn't leave her side that night, staying with her until she had calmed enough and then setting up a small bed on the floor nearby and there she fell asleep holding onto his hand, fingers laced with his.


	13. Chapter 13

Days had gone since his death.

Long nights spent where she sat wide-eyed, remembering the image of him lying there with the life drained from his eyes.

Never had she confessed to any of this happening, too afraid to bring it back up. Lem understood however and remained by her side at all times, making every minute count.

He held onto the pole supporting the tent and swung inside the small space, a gentle smile present in greeting. “Mornin'.”

She looked away to hide the small giggle at his antics, burying her face back in the book she had been reading. “May I c-come in?”

“Your home jus' as much as mine. Don't needa ask, Lem.”

“Just bein' polite.”

She nodded, turning a page in her story. “I know.”

He pulled out a stool, unfolding it and sitting near while she finished one final paragraph for the day and once she stopped she lowered her book to spare him a glance. “How are you feelin'?”

And she let out a quiet sigh at the worse question asked at this time, but he meant well and she knew it. She always knew it. “I've had better days.”

“Cripps has asked if you wanted to go i-into town, said he is tired of s-seein' you stuck here but told me not to mention i-it.” Lem added on and she nodded, placing her book on the cot next to her. She rose from sitting down and left the tent with him quickly following close behind.

They didn't speak to one another as she made her way to the hitching posts, untethering Casper and leading him away with Lem following behind on his own animal. “Valentine's near, but where did you want to go?”

“Everywhere sounds bad an' you don't like going much places.”

“No.. I-” He quickly spoke up, not allowing her to finish the sentence started. “It's fine, nothin' wrong with it.” Lem gave her a gentle shrug before riding on forward, spurring his horse into a gallop and when she had realised he had gone ahead she nudged her horse to go faster and followed him to wherever he wanted to go.

* * *

The spot he took her too ended up being his Aunt's moonshine shack and she frowned when she saw the exterior turning towards him with uncertainty about being back here so soon. Since Sean's death she began to ignore the woman's letters and work detail and doubted Maggie would be thrilled to see Nora after all of that, they weren't exactly on the best of terms before but now.. well their previous relationship was probably unsalvageable. “Lem, why are we here?” She sighed, holding onto the horn of her saddle to steady herself but he didn't give her a proper answer.

“Jus' wait outside and I'll be back shortly.” He cheered, running inside the house.

She awkwardly waited outside, watching the birds fly past her and land in the trees and she listened to their peaceful song with a pleasant smile; this warm feeling building up inside as she listened.

She watched a particular family of birds closely, barely able to see the chicks from down below but now and then when they bobbed their heads up she caught a glimpse of them. They looked recently hatched too, at their most vulnerable and relying on their mother to live and she thought back to the days spent with her ma and pa and how she missed them dearly. He wasn't always a drunkard and she wasn't always blind to his cruel ways, but as time went on Nora's mother realised that there was only so much begging she could do before she gave up and turned a blind eye on her husband's antics.

But she cared for her children. Cared enough to put herself in the way of his violent tempers.

“What you thinkin' on?” He startled her, speaking in that usual cheery tone. When she realised it was Lem talking she relaxed a little but wasn't thrilled to have been scared like that, a habit she'd grown to get. “Nothin'. Shall we leave?”

“Yeah, I got what I came for.” He flashed her a smile and held up his guitar, handing it to her to hold onto while he mounted up once again. “You're carryin' it?” She had asked him when he reached forward to take the instrument and the male remained silent as he placed it carefully in his lap. “Okay so… where we headed then?”

“O'Creagh's run.” He answered. “Thought we're heading to town.”

“I had a better idea and if I asked to go anywhere else you probably wouldn't h-have come.”

“Now that's not true.” She feigned insult but accepted it anyway, gripping onto the reins and pointing him to lead the way down the roads. He turned his horse and gently increased pace but didn't gallop like before, this time choosing to ride gently so he could enjoy a nicer conversation with Nora.

“Can I ask you something?”

“If I get to a-ask something in return.”

“How long have you been a moonshiner?”

“As long as I can remember.. after my ma died A-Aunt Maggie took me in and then a few years after I started helpin' with the business. Why?”

“You'd think for someone who's done it so long you wouldn't mess up so often.” She joked and he wasn't offended by it, smiling in turn at her mock insult. “I think the same thing, my question n-now.”

“But you got yours.”

“I didn't.”

Nora nodded, giving him a small shrug. “When you asked why, that's a question.”

“But it don't count.” Nora shook her head. “It do.” He groaned at her stubbornness but laughed regardless, happy to see her not so sad today and he couldn't help but believe that he had helped with this, distracting her enough so she wouldn't think back on the events of the past week and what a wild one it had been for Nora.

“What was your ma like?” He winced at her question and shook his head, it was a sore topic he so rarely discussed. He didn't fault her on the question as it was asked with no harm in mind and she didn't know that he had difficulty talking about his own mother and when she noticed the hurt in his eyes she quickly gasped and apologised for her ‘foolishness’. “It's fine, you didn't know.” He said. “It's hard.. I don't l-like talking much.”

“Same here I s'pose.”

“We're nearly at O-O'Creagh's run.” He diverted the topic. “There's a nice spot I found, thought you'd like it.”

“Ain't that sweet.”

“What is?”

“Just you in general.” He blushed at her comment and quickly looked away to focus on the road beneath them and she smirked at how red he became from a gentle sentence. 

“We cut off the road here.” and she followed behind him as he led her around the lake. They came to a stop not too far from the road but far and hidden enough that they would have some privacy.

She marvelled at the flowers, stepping across the gravel and taking in their pretty colours. She was fascinated by the patterns on some petals, how the colour looked to be bleeding into a white and it was unlike anything she had seen before. “Hold this for me.” He passed her the guitar and while she was on the floor she took a moment to look at it, the small engraving of a name in the body that looked to have been done with a thin knife; similar to his own he so often played with when sat at the table in the moonshine shack.

“Who's H. Fike?” She presumed it to be a relative given the surname. “Ma, it was hers.” He spoke rather bluntly and she understood that, handing him the instrument awkwardly after that. “I've considered learning to play.”

Lem turned around and faced her with a raised eyebrow, he gave her a quizzical expression and she asked what it was about. “You know how t-to play, I've heard you.”

“Maybe I was lookin' for an excuse to get you to play.”

“Wouldn't have b-brought it if I didn't intend too.”

She shrugged and sat down on a clear patch of grass, leaning against a boulder with him taking a seat next to her. Their shoulders were barely touching and she smiled to herself about how close he was to her, enjoying the warmth radiating from him and the proximity. “Figured you brought it along to tease me.”

“I mean if that's what you like I can tease you.” Not expecting his response she choked on thin air as she tried letting out a laugh, taking a deep breath to steady her breathing. He smiled in her direction, strumming the strings of the guitar in a gentle tune while waiting for her to calm down. After short while he began to play a tune she was familiar with, ‘my darling clementine’ a song she took a liking too at a young age.

She began to hum along quietly while he played, picking at the flowers and linking them into a chain while doing so and he couldn't help the smile on his face. He wanted to request her to sing, hearing her sing once before but he was too shy too and he didn't want to upset her in doing so, much like how he didn't necessarily like performing in front of others she wasn't one too big on singing either. “Danny-lee taught you how to play, didn't he?”

He stopped the song and let out a quiet sigh, reluctantly nodding. “Unfortunately.”

“My Pa taught me to play.. one of the only times he…” She shook her head slowly, lowing her gaze back to the flowers in her lap. “I never knew my father.” He admitted, leaning the guitar against a rock and she looked up at him as he continued.

“Ma never spoke about him much, Maggie didn't like him neither.”

“Oh. I'm sorry to hear that.”

“Don't be, nothin' for anybody to be sorry over.”

Nora pushed her foot forward, picking up some of the dirt on her heel and for the first time in a while they both sat in silence that drifted over to awkward with time. “Here, wear this.” She raised the flower chain and draped it over his neck to wear as a necklace and he thanked her for the ‘kind’ gift.

She didn't see but he looked happy to receive something so simple, it was from Nora and to him that made it so much more special. Anything from her was immediately so much more better. “I appreciate it.”

“Good.”

He looked up towards the sky and noticed the slow descent of the sun and how the land around them began to grow darker. He stretched his arm out and slowly placed it over her shoulders giving her a gentle squeeze from the side, he expected her to move away or have him move his arm but instead she chose to shuffle so she was sat closer to him than before, and slowly wrapped her arm around his torso. “This really helped.” She mumbled. “You takin' me out.”

“Good.” He looked down at her and gently kissed her forehead, something he had done once before and just as the last time she giggled slightly before hiding her face in his chest and quietly she whispered a small “Thank you.” appreciative of all he had done for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sweet chapter :)  
> Also the plan for Nora and Lem was guessed before the update went out, which I found funny. But thank you all for the hits, I'm really appreciative for the 200+ :D


	14. Chapter 14

“Dutch.” Nora greeted the infamous outlaw humbly, walking with him into the old house at Shady-Belle. Inside they met with Arthur and John, who looked no better since she had last seen him. “We were hopin' you could assist us in Saint Denis.” The leader explained and she raised a brow to push him to explain what he meant. 

“How?”

“Angelo Bronte, you heard of him?” She nodded. “What about him?”

“The Braithwaite's gave young Jack to him. So we're going to get the boy back.”

“Angelo Bronte, huh.” Nora shook her head in disbelief, pulling the sleeves of her shirt down over her hands. “Guess I should've expected as much.”

“Will you help us?” John Marston sounded sad than the usual manner, she grew used to his snappy way of talking but he had lost his son. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

In front of Dutch at the table was a map of Saint-Denis that she recognised well, it was outdated as the majority of the slums which were a later addition to the city hadn't been marked yet, but surely she noticed the mansion district and the very spot where Bronte lived. She pointed at the shape on the map, tapping it gently. “That's where our man lives.” She explained before running her finger along what was meant to supposed to be the roads. “Nearest bridge into Saint Denis, to us, is down here and we just need to follow the one road to get to his mansion.”

Dutch watched intently as she planned out the route and found himself impressed with her knowledge on the city, wanting to hear more she knew he had asked about any other important locations in Saint Denis for *future projects. “Don't know what interests you boys, we got a graveyard here and the trolley station down there.” She pointed at the spot and then dragged her finger up towards one final box marked on the map. “This, I believe, is the Lemoyne National Bank.”

“Bank?” His eyes lit up at the word and he leaned closer to the map, taking in the area closely to remember the layout of the streets to get there. “You heard correctly, Mr. Van Der Linde.”

“I say we wait until night for Jack, to arouse less suspicion.”

Arthur and John agreed but Dutch had a lack of interest in what she had to say, muttering a few words but really his eyes only remained on the paper. She spared a moment to glance towards Arthur who could only give a small shrug before leaving the house with John in tow. Nora prepared to speak with him but was cut off when a frantic Molly stepped in, looking more frantic than the usual and desperate for Dutch's attention. “Dutch, can I talk with you for a moment?” He frowned, pinching the bridge of his knows and squeezing his eyes tight. “I'm busy right now, Miss O'Shea.”

“You don't look busy.” Her eyes travelled to focus Nora who stood awkwardly in the room, excusing herself to leave but being stopped when Molly had grabbed hold of her wrist. “It's always gotta be about you, Molly O'Shea. You've had all this time to talk to me and you choose now.”

“I've not had any time because you're always so busy.”

“Whatever, Miss.” He pushed past the females, making an effort to push Nora behind him so he was standing before Molly. He towered over the female in comparison and shrouded her in his shadow to intimidate but she kept her ground and balled her hands into a tight fist. “I have work to do, something you don't know how to do yourself.” And with that final word the man walked away to leave them alone inside.

Nora couldn't believe just how cruel Dutch could be and it confirmed her earlier suspicions over the male, a source to not be trusted. “Forget about him, Molly.”

“It's easier said than done, Nora and I doubt you know what any of it feels like.”

“I don't, but I know people don't need to face that sort of shit. He's a bully it seems.” Molly squeezed her eyes shut to keep some tears from falling and raised her hand to dismiss the female, using fingers to wipe away a few stray tears. “Look you need someone to talk too, I'll be there an' you can write anytime.”

“Thank you.”

“I should get goin', see ya Molly.”

She left the house and frowned at the thick air, it somehow being a lot more thinner indoors. Relocating her may have been a poor decision solely based on how much warmer the territory was and Nora had to fan herself with her hand to cool down every-so-often otherwise she felt she was going to fate. She wondered how Bill or Arthur, even Lenny on occasion were able to walk around with their coats on.

“Howdy cowpoke.” She had found Kieran near the horses, his natural habitat and decided to stand near him while he ran the horse brush against Branwen. He smiled upon recognising her voice and turned slightly to face her, never faltering on his chore. “Mornin'!” He cheered.

“Seem a lot happier than usual. What happened?”

“Nothin' exciting.. guess started to slowly feel I belong. A lot of 'em started bein' nice.”

“You don't sound so nervous when ya talk too.” He chuckled and nodded slowly. “No, I do not.”

“I think I may be stayin' a little while and thought to keep my favourite cowboy some company.” She teased and Kieran smiled at the compliment, pulling out an apple from inside his coat pocket and handing it to her to feed the horse; as told by his pointing towards the creature. “Sure I just saw Arthur approach Pearson's chuck wagon. Probably be where you'll find your favourite cowboy.”

“Real funny.”

“Or you'll find Lem.” He paused to think. “Where would you find him?”

Nora shrugged, unsure of the answer herself. “Guess is as good as mine. When he ain't at the shack he's at my camp and when he ain't there he's at the shack.. but when he's neither, well it's hard to find him.”

“He ever say where he goes?”

“Not unless asked, but we don't ask him often.”

Kieran finished brushing the dirt from Branwen's coat before turning the brush towards Nora with a playful grin. “Your turn.” She chuckled, taking a step back from him. “You're gonna have to bathe first I'm afraid.”

“Oh, how funny.”

“I pride myself on my.. comedic nature.”

Kieran looked behind him and gave Mary-Beth a gentle wave once he realised she had been looking his way and once he did so the girl flushed a bright red before looking away, digging her nose into the pages of her book that sat open in her lap. “You're goin' with Dutch to rescue Jack, right?”

“Yes.” She answered, helping him out by picking up a bucket of dirty water not far from where they stood. He led them over to the wagons furthest from the hitching station and the pair talked quietly amongst themselves as they crossed camp; ignoring the odd looks sent their way from one person in specific. Everyone else seemed far too occupied to worry about the O'Driscoll, after all, he didn't feel like one to them anymore.

“How's the readin' going?” She asked to be polite and once before she had asked and he looked annoyed when she did so, but this time he gave her a bright smile. “It's okay.. doin' a lot better than a few months ago.”

She shared the joy with him and bounced on her toes and clapped her hands together simultaneously. “That's great, Kieran! I'd have to buy you a drink sometime to celebrate.”

“I doubt I'll drink, who knows what'll happen.”

“Nothin' bad might wake up the next day feelin' terrible but that's the worse of it.”

“We'll see I guess.”

She dumped the water out on the grass, a decent distance away from camp and returned back to the grounds. Kieran had waited by an old shack trying to light a match but failing in his attempts to do so. “Here.” She took it from his hands, her fingers brushing against his before striking it to alight. He held the cigarette out to her and waited for her to light it and once she had done she waved the flame out.

“When are you leavin'?”

“Eager to get rid of me?”

“Maybe.” He joked and Nora took to gently patting his shoulder. “Lovely, ain't ya?”

* * *

John and Dutch set out for Saint Denis days a few hours before they had, saying that they would keep an eye on the place before actually going in with their demands. They had no idea who they were going up against after all.

She left Shady-Belle last and made haste to the mansion district in the city, unaware of where the men could be waiting for her as they hadn't set an official meeting spot prior but it didn't take a drastic amount of searching to be able to find them, given they had sat in the community garden opposite and Dutch wasn't quiet when he talked to the men, instructing John to remain calm and for Arthur to keep a close eye on the situation...

She walked up the path to greet them and Arthur gave a gentle nod when he saw her and quickly the men rose from sitting on the steps; ready to talk with Bronte.

“Remember, we don't wanna go gun's blazin'.” Dutch warned them as they approached the gate. “Could risk harmin' Jack if we do.”

Upon finishing their walk, Nora noticed the guards all lined up along the path armed with guns and looking mean. They didn't seem pleased with the close proximity they were in and less so when Dutch had called over one particular guard to stand at the gate so they could talk.

“Run along now.” He muttered and the guard scurried off after he *negotiated with him. Dutch did momentarily tell him to return just so he could give back the taken gun and then they were told to follow on inside to speak with Bronte himself.

As soon as she stepped inside the house she was choked with the thick smell of fragrance and for a moment she could swear that they had walked into a greenhouse instead of someone's home.

The man himself sat surrounded by guards in a parlour, dressed in robes and drinking a glass of wine.

“Where is his son?” Dutch didn't jump to formalities and Angelo Bronte looked far from pleased as they cut straight to the point.

“Excuse me?”

And Dutch repeated himself, pointing at John. “Where is his son?” Bronte scowled at the forward approach and called over one of his guards to whisper something in his ear. Nora was told not to go in and start shooting but with the way things seemed to be turning out she began to worry that they would need to switch their approach. 

“Who do you think you are, coming into my home with these demands and stinkin' of shit.” Nora's hand to move just above her revolver and Arthur moved in front of her to grip her wrist and not bring suspicion her way; he would let go if they needed to use it.

Bronte continued telling Dutch off while the three remained standing around in awkward silence.

“I like you-” Angelo raised a cigar and pointed his fingers in the direction of the man his smile big and yet sinister. “I do, I do like you. Please have a seat men and.. lady.”

The three on the seat took up all the space so unless she were to on one of their laps she chose to lean against an arm and balance herself there, sitting close to Arthur who looked equally as uncomfortable. 

“I'll tell you what, you can have the boy back.” John's face lit up. “But I have.. a request.”

Arthur groaned and leaned forward, clasping his hands together in front of him and biting back the need to swear at the Italian. “What is it?” She asked, not shy to hide the frustration in her voice.

“There are graverobbers in the graveyard.”

“Well, that is a good place for it, the best.” Dutch quipped and Bronte laughed at his joke. “I like him, I like you.”

“Just clear them out and I'll give you back the boy.”

“Of course, I can have these three go and do that and you and I can talk a little more.” Dutch stood and motioned for the trio to leave the area but Bronte called them to stop. “Why doesn't the lady stay? I'm sure she wouldn't want to associate herself with those types of thieves.”

“Oh, I should really make sure these pair stay out of trouble.” She cut in quickly but Bronte wasn't having any of it, further insisting that she stay. Dutch placed his palm on the female's shoulder and his grip tightened ever so slightly. “I'm sure you can part with Arthur for a few minutes, Mrs Morgan.”

She raised a brow at the use of 'Mrs' but didn't want to raise any alarm regarding it. She nodded slowly and sat back down on the chair, with walking behind her. “Young couples, never can be apart.” He commented. “Never did see any use for marriage myself, but that didn't stop these two.” And now she was parading as a married woman.

“Oh, you are married?” Bronte asked Nora specifically, pouring bourbon into a glass and handing it to her. She took a sip and was about to answer his question before Dutch cut it. “To Arthur, yes.”

“Well, congratulations.”

Bronte clicked his fingers together and one of his bodyguards walked over; leaning down so the man could whisper in his ear. She tried listening to what he said but unfortunately for her he spoke in Italian possibly so they could not decipher what instructions he passed on.

“I wish for you to stay and chat awhile, but I am a busy man no? And I am sure that your husband and his friend will be back soon.” Bronte stood to escort them out, having one of his men hold the door open in politeness. Dutch turned, ready to ask about the boy before Jack ran down the stairs to join them.

“Uncle Dutch!” He cheered running to his side and the gang's leader crouched low to greet the boy before taking his hand and walking him outside. “Where's mama?” The boy asked but Dutch was reluctant to answer at first, only keeping an eye on the armed men that lined the gravel driveway towards the mansion.

She sat on the steps with him and distracted him long enough for the men to arrive and when John did return through the gates the boy took off and ran into his hands, this bright smile on his face. “How did it go?” Arthur asked Dutch and Nora specifically but neither provided a coherent answer, besides the subtle comment she made about them being married now.

“Excuse me?”

“My thoughts exactly.” She chuckled, walking around to Casper and mounting up alongside the men. “Will you be returning to camp with us, Nora?” Dutch asked as he took lead on The Count. “Not sure. If you wish me too then I see no harm in joinin' you fella's.”

“Please come with us, Nora.” Jack begged, his brights eyes silently pleading the woman to join them. Dutch scratched his nose, tilting his head over towards Jack. “It seems that the boy has spoken.”

“Alright, guess I will be goin' then.” Jack cheered and it livened up the evening for the group and having him back would mean that this turned to be the end of a very bad and stressful week.

* * *

“Abigail!” John hollered and the woman cave rushing over at the mention of her name, she faltered in her steps when she noticed her child in his arms and in no time broke into a sprint to reunite with her child.

“You got my boy back! You got him back.. thank you, thank you all.” She blinked away a few happy tears and quickly rushed the boy into camp and soon Dutch had departed while he told his dear best friend, Hosea of their little adventure. Nora turned towards John who looked longingly at his family, holding a cigarette between his lips. “Go over and sit with them, Marston.” She said and he nodded as if she were giving a command. He scurried off.

“So we're married?” Arthur asked as he escorted the female back into Shady-Belle's grounds.

“I was just as shocked too.”

“Who's idea was that?”

“Dutch's, I don't know why he said it or where it came from but Angelo Bronte didn't seem thrilled when we brought it up.”

Javier began to play a song on his guitar, one recognised well by the gang who all cheered once the first note was played. “That's a shame.”

“As much as it's been an honour, bein' your pretend-wife I am afraid that I am spoken for by someone else.”

“You are, are you?”

“Nope.” Nora chuckled lowly, scuffing the dirt up with her boot. “But I have eyes for someone.”

“Well I respect that, ma'am. I should leave you to get on with the party however, enjoy yourself.”

He said a humble goodbye before returning to his room for the night, deciding that he had enough excitement for the day.

She spotted Kieran sulking near the chuckwagon and decided that he was who she wished to take with for the evening, especially since he was one of the rare decent men around. She walked over and joined him at the table, offering a liquor bottle she picked up on the way. “How are ya?”

“I'm fine.” He mumbled and she noticed in the low light how his cheeks had flushed a red. “Good job on gettin' Jack back. Must've been fun.”

“Guess that could be said.” Nora brought the bottle to her lips and took a sip of the beverage, cringing at the bitter taste. “Didn't take too much work and nobody needed to die.”

“Well you got the kid back, it's w-what matters.” Gone was that confidence from before. The man took a long drink from the bottle, despite his earlier refusal to do so and she watched with curiosity, wondering what had happened while she was out. “Did somethin' happen to you?”

“No.” Kieran said bluntly. She didn't believe it, narrowing her eyes is suspicious before diverting her gaze over towards the scout fire where some members of the gang sat, unfortunately for her she met eyes with Micah Bell and he gave her a wicked grin that chilled her to the bone.

“Listen, I'm gonna talk to Mary-Beth for a short while. You need me I'll try not to stray too far from camp.”

Kieran nodded slowly. “G-Guess I'll do the same.”

Nora placed a palm on his cheek, running her thumb along the top of his beard before pulling away. He leaned into her touch and the minute it had gone he pouted like some child. Kieran moved to longingly watch her as she walked away from him to enter the old building, taking note of how she lingered in the doorway for a little too long before eventually disappearing indoors. “You got it bad for her too don't ya?”

Kieran shook his head to deny these claims, but Hosea only laughed as he saw through the blatant lie. “Jus' keep ya head on your shoulders an' everything will be alright.” He left Kieran alone after that and all he could do was sulk in his spot, both annoyed and confused with his feelings and how he struggled to come to terms with them. Nora was sweet and spoke more to him than anybody else, he always looked forward to her visits as they not only meant that he wouldn't be alone for a prolonged period but also because he could have a conversation with someone who thought of him as an equal and not some vermin. “How'd you end up in this mess, Duffy?” He muttered to himself, taking to drink again from the bottle and slowly he slipped into a dazed state of drunkness and tomorrow he would most likely regret his decision to so foolishly drink.


	15. Chapter 15

The following morning she had woken up to a cold hand roughly shaking her back and forth and she elbowed at the air in an effort to ward them off. “What?” She grumbled, cracking open one eye and looking at Mary-Beth who chewed on her bottom lip. She looked worried once Nora was able to take a better look at her.

“I'm sorry to wake you, but have you seen Kieran?” Mary-Beth asked her. She moved her arms around without method and would occasionally play with the fabric of her skirt to distract herself but never did that look in her eye falter. “No I haven't. He's probably by the horses.”

“I've checked-”

“The shed outside then? Usually smokes there.”

Mary-Beth shook her head again. “Looked everywhere for him.”

“I'm sure he's fine. Grown adult after all so don't worry.” Mary-Beth didn't appear happy with the answer Nora gave and sighed at the minimal help provided. She stormed out of the living room and called again for him, this worry breaking her voice as she tried to blink away some of the tears that threatened to fall.

Arthur, who was eavesdropping in the hallway, eventually entered the old parlour just as Nora began to pull on her boots again and gave the woman a smile in greeting before sitting opposite. “How long you stayin'?”

“Not sure… eager to be rid of me are ya?” And quickly he raised his hands in defense to her claim. “Now that ain't what I meant.”

“I'm jus' kiddin' with ya.” Nora chuckled and Arthur only shook his head. “Mary-Beth has been lookin' for Kieran all mornin'.”

“If he's missing could you blame her? It's the same if someone you care for goes missin', like Dutch or John or Hosea.” He chewed his lip in thought and nodded slowly, knowing what she meant by this but Kieran was an adult who knew how to survive by all means there shouldn't have been anything to worry about.

She looked around the house briefly incase anybody was near and eavesdropping before she leaned towards Arthur. “Between us two, I last seen him wonderin' somewhere out of camp. If somethin' happened to him-”

“I'm sure he's fine, Nora.. but I'll keep an eye out for him.”

“Good.” Nora said. She stood from the seat with Arthur's help and made way outside to be greeted by Dutch who held out his arms for her. She moved away from a hug with an excuse of not feeling well but did allow him to tap her shoulder. “Thank you for your help with, Jack.”

“Weren't nothin'.” She replied but Dutch didn't like her answer. “It was everything. The whole lot of what you've done for us and we're very, very grateful.” She smiled awkwardly at his compliments or perhaps his thanks and wiggled away from his grip once the uncomfortable feelings set it, but that didn't mean to say she wasn't honoured by his kind words. “It ain't nothin', sir.”

“Arthur- will you excuse Miss Morgan an' I so we can talk in quiet.” Dutch told him and the man obligated with a small nod, walking away from the duo and over to Mary-Beth who had just finished talking with Grimshaw. For a moment he did watch as they disappeared inside before turning towards the female who was ready to ask someone else for Kieran's whereabouts. 

“Ain't he old enough to look after himself, Mary-Beth?”

“Oh I know this, I'm just.. real worried for him.”

“I've said I'll keep an eye out an' Nora will probably do the same, we both leave the camp often enough that we'll likely cross paths and if it makes you feel better, I can take you out to clear your head.. and maybe have you steal somethin' who knows.” Mary-Beth chuckled at his offer and nodded slowly, giving him a gentle smile.

“I'd like that very much, but can Karen and Tilly come?”

“I don't see the problem with it.” He chuckled and she cheered gleefully at the agreement, almost forgetting about Kieran for a moment. “Jus' find him for me, please.” She begged and the male nodded slowly at her request. 

“I will.”

“Thank you.” Arthur nodded sideways towards the girls. “Why don't you go round them up an' we'll have that trip into town. You ain't been to Saint Denis yet have you?”

Mary-Beth shook her head slowly but smiled as for a while she had been planning to sneak out and explore this city. She scurried away to talk with the woman and Arthur chuckled at her enthusiasm, when he turned to look back at the door he noticed Nora emerging from inside. “Hello, Arthur.”

“What'd Dutch need to speak with you about?”

“Somethin' regarding a party at the mayor's house. He just wanted information on it.”

“The party?”

Nora shook her head. “The house an' whatnot.” He lit a cigarette and smoked it while waiting for Mary-Beth to continue and she used his silence to continue on. “He asked me to go to this party, too.”

“What'd you say?”

“I said I hate dressin' up but I'd do it for the right amount and he agreed.”

“Well I feel with you around ain't nothin' gonna stop us from succeeding.”

“Ain't you the charmer.”

Karen ran up to the pair and placed her hands on her hips as soon as she came to a halt and just behind her she was followed by Mary-Beth and Tilly who looked exhausted from running the short distance they did.

“Well, when we leavin' then?” Her face lit up and Nora looked up at Arthur with a confused expression. The male quickly looked down towards her and scratched the back of his neck slowly. “I offfered to take the women out to Saint Denis. Would you want to accompany us, Miss Morgan?” Mary-Beth looked excited but also looked on at Nora as she waited her answer. It was obvious in

“Well, when we leavin' then?” The women cheered in union and on Arthur's command followed him out towards the wagon, the very same they last went in when the girls had a trip to Valentine.

“Why don't you drive for now, Miss?” Arthur offered and she gladly took the reins for the journey. Setting the horses forward once the others were properly seated in the wagon and ready to move.

* * *

The girls marveled at the city from afar as she began to cross over one of the many bridges and among their chorus of “Ooh's and Ah's” the two at front couldn't help but stifle a little laughter as they found themselves amused regarding their excitement over something so plain.

Mary-Beth had taken particular liking to the lights on most street corners and even more liking to the theatre, grand in it's standing. As Nora rode past she begged they stop to watch a show and seeing as it was still fairly early Nora mentioned that instead they return later.

She had no specific destination in mind for them to visit and the city was nothing too exciting to look at, at least not for her, but the women did enjoy what they saw even the markets. “While we are here, mind if I stop at the general store? Need to buy few supplies.”

Tilly spoke up. “Of course.”

Nora climbed down and the others followed suit, the large group entering the store which surprised the clerk who's business had been running dry over the past few weeks. He recognised Nora and mentioned how he was glad to see her again after a long time and she could only offer a subtle wave.

“Has Cripps sent you out on errands again?” The clerk asked and Nora could only laugh at the truth in his question. “He sent me out a couple days ago actually, only gettin' around to it.”

“You're a busy woman.”

“Guess I am.” Nora pointed behind her at the group of people who looked on with curious faces and in particular she had singled out Arthur. “These are some associates of mine and this in particular is Arthur Callahan.” She used his false name and the man nodded.

“Well it's nice to meet you all, any friends of Nora is a friend of mine.”

“Cripps has asked me to buy some ingredients for the stew as well as huntin' supplies. Got all that in stock?”

The clerk nodded, bending down to pick up a crate hidden behind his counter. He rummaged inside momentarily before pulling out a few boxes of express rifle ammo and presenting it to her. Her face lit up when she saw them and quickly she pocketed them and handed over the correct amount of money owed, then he later passed over fresh and canned peaches.

“I still have no idea what sort of stew you make with these, but I s'pose Cripps does put kidney beans and chocolate together and it works.”

“S'pose he's been around for that long that no matter what it'll taste decent.”

The clerk laughed and counted the last of her money handed over, smiling with the amount given. “Thank you, ma'am.”

“Well, it had been nice seein' ya.” She clicked her tongue and left the shop with the others behind her.

“Where to now?” Tilly asked, jogging to catch up with Nora as she led them through the city. She decided that walking would be the best course of action due to the crowded state the city was always in.

“I don't know.” Nora answered honestly. “We could grab a drink at the saloon or go to that theatre?”

“Theatre?” Mary-Beth piped up and Nora nodded at the only option given.

Nora took the girls by the arm and walked with them down the alleyways of the city, stepping over drunkards on their way. “You ever seen a show before?” Karen asked Nora and she slowly nodded.

“Lem took me once.” and a song of 'Awws' chimed out from the group. Nora rolled her eyes at their reaction, opening the door for the theatre open and allowing them to enter.

* * *

_“I'm just surprised that you wore a dress.” Lem commented as he paid for the tickets and she stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manner. “I do wear dresses often, just not when with you.”_

_“And why's that? I think they suit you.”_

_“I always end up in some sorta trouble when we're together, love.” She chuckled lightly. “I'd wear 'em more often for you if you like.”_

_Lem flushed a bright red before placing his hand on the small of her back and walking her inside, avoiding her gaze._

* * *

“Can I have a couple of tickets for the show please? Five exactly.”

She traded over money for the tickets and led the group inside the theatre and Mary-Beth marveled at it's eccentric beauty. She made a comment about how romantic the ordeal was before scooting down an isle to sit at one of the seats.

Nora ended up sat next to Arthur and she noticed how excited they looked, the women more than Arthur, as soon as the lights dimmed and Albridge stepped out.

* * *

“That was fun!” Karen cheered as she ran out into the streets of Saint Denis, almost choking on the thick air of the swamps when out there. Mary-Beth followed behind and held onto the female's hand, squeezing it gently in doing so. “Oh this was such a good show.”

Tilly emerged with a small smile, already talking sense despite the fun they had been having. “I'm afraid we ought to get back before Grimshaw kills us all.” and the others frowned as their joy was brought down. Tilly only shook her head and wrapped her arms around the girls' shoulders, leading them back down the alleys to where they had left their wagon and Nora remained behind with Arthur.

“Kieran.. forgive me for sayin' this, but Kieran's time- he never had a lot of it.”

“What do you mean?” Nora sighed and looked ahead to see just how close Mary-Beth was to them and she lowered her voice just a little more to not be heard.

“I didn't want to say nothin' back at camp, but I'm afraid that Kieran disappearing wasn't just him gettin' drunk and gettin' lost. The poor kid didn't exactly live freely now did he.”

“Now I wouldn't-” Nora raised her hand to cut him off.

“He's been livin' on borrowed time, Arthur. I don't want to be negative but if he ain't well liked by you fella's or Colm then what world is there for him?”

Arthur's lips pressed into a tight line and he nodded slowly at the pieces began to fall into place and make sense for him and he let out a sigh at the acceptance of it. “But we gotta remain positive, for his sake.”

“Of course we do, Morgan.” She hummed and steadily began to quicken her pace to catch up with the women. “But don't give up on him just yet, okay?”

“Not at all.”

* * *

_Nora took his hand and laced her fingers through his as they walked out of the theatre, she had enjoyed the evening and had been very vocal throughout the entire performance just how much she had liked it and instead of being annoyed at her constant disruptions, Lem found himself to be captivated by what he had to say._

_She led him down an alleyway, it was the quickest way to travel through the city afterall but stopped abruptly by what she had seen on the other end. Quickly she led go of his hand and walked down another route, telling Lem to follow closely behind and to be as quiet as possible._

_“Everythin' alright?” He asked but she didn't answer, too focused on getting them out._

_He didn't realise she had stopped, not until she grabbed at his arm and pulled him back to her and he let out a gasp as he almost fell into her and the wall she leaned against and slowly he brought his hands up to rest by her sides and against the brick, his heartbeat going quicker at the position they were in. “There's revenue agents down there..” She whispered and he peered down the narrow passage have a look._

_She stood stiff until they had disappeared but only found herself relieved when he managed to pull away._

_“I-” She muttered, but the words didn't come out. She shook her head out of the thoughts and began to walk again, avoiding any lawmen. “Let's just… go.”_


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter posted a day earlier than scheduled; please enjoy. :D

That Saint Denis trip was the last she had seen of the gang, having left promptly thereafter to return to her own family. Lem was more than excited to see her return, running up once her horse rode in to greet her with a fond smile and Cripps exchanged a small word with her brothers about it, often teasing.

“You ought to take him out and have a long word with him.” Cripps mentioned to Harry who had been picking at chunks in his stew. The man shook his head slowly but when he looked over at his sister talking with the same person he disliked he couldn't help but feel bitter. “Why does she bother with him, he's a nuisance.”

“Well, Lem's not all bad once you know him.” Cripps commented to lighten the situation but Harry only rolled his eyes.

“She shouldn't have forgiven him back then, can't count the times one argument made her upset or angry.”

“Don't forget they were as bad as each other, Lem also found himself upset when they would argue.”

But Harry only shook his head slowly, eating more of his stew. James looked back and forth on the situation and nodded in agreement with everything both men had to say, not taking a specific side. “Look, shouldn't what matter be how Nora feels?” Cripps asked but Harry only let out a huff. 

“If havin' Lem around makes her happy, why should it bother you? Ain't like you're around often enough anyway.”

“I'm around plenty, it's her who isn't.” Harry remarked. “And why's it matter what she thinks?”

“Because for one, she raised you both. You were young and as was she and instead of turning you into some orphanage she took you in and raised you into the men, better suited to be children, you are today.”

“All she did was babysit for a few years.” Cripps rolled his eyes, feeling like his ears were lying to him at how rude Harry was being and all of it starting due to his dislike in a certain friend of Nora's. Cripps finished the stew and stood, not before pointing a finger at the brother. “She taught you a lot of things necessary for survival. You wouldn't have lasted five minutes if it weren't for her.”

Harry didn't like that and promptly left the table to return to his tent for the night, leaving James and Cripps sitting alone with the younger males mouth hanging agape. James struggled to apologise on behalf of his twin, not finding an excuse to provide for him and so Cripps let out a little huff before resuming to the stock of his business, checking over everything ready for sell.

“How's Kieran?” Lem asked her. She beckoned him away from the camp to avoid eavesdroppers and had him sit down on a rock next to her. “Poor thing's gone missing.”

“M-Missing?” He gasped.

“Last I saw him he was drunk, not thinking clearly and I worry about what has happened to him.”

“Well, I'm sure he's gonna be fine, Nora.” Lem calmed and she gave him a light chuckle before shaking her head. “It's a nice thought to have but I'm afraid that…” She paused as she found it difficult to carry on with the sentence and began to pick at the thread of her blouse to distract her for a brief moment before she was able too. “Well, I'm afraid his time has inevitably ran out. I don't think Kieran ever had too long left.”

“That's v-very negative, especially f-from you.” Lem furrowed his eyebrows and Nora could only nod slowly, recognising herself how she had become a lot less hopeful in her words. “I know, I'm sorry.”

“Don't be.” Lem looked over towards the campfire, ignoring the look on her face. “It's life after all.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

_She sat near Lem on the rocks as they watched from a distance, Kieran fish. The man had occasionally turned back to talk with the two of them but for the most part they sat in comfortable silence._

_“How many fish you caught Kieran?” Nora piped up to ask him and he looked down into his bucket to count how many he had in there. “Roughly f-five or six.” He answered._

_“That's not bad.” She replied and Kieran nodded gently with her words, focusing on not blushing at her compliments or how kind he realised she was to him._

_“We should start headin' back soon before the gang think you decided to run away, that or they think one of us murdered the other.”_

_He knew it to be spoken in some truth but he didn't wish to return quite yet, at least, not until it was well past nightfall and the majority of his unfortunate campmates had since retired to their cots or bedrolls to sleep. “With any luck they'll think you murdered me, then I can slip away and-” He had stopped himself quickly when the realisation struck that he hadn't meant the words he was about to say._

_“Let's go.” He lowered his fishing rod and picked up his bucket in the same hand, taking Branwen by the reins and leading him over to Clemens Point. He wished to travel further to fish but with his past no members of the gang would let him travel too far out on his own and even when he had the odd permission to go far someone would grab his shoulder and warn him of what would happen if he stepped out of line._

_But with Nora he felt like he could break the rules just to spend time with her that wasn't lived in fear for someone to tease or belittle him._

* * *

“A party at the mayor's?” Lem gasped when she so casually brought it up and the female nodded slowly to confirm it before handing out two cards between them. He looked at them briefly before turning them over, ready for their game to start once again.

“Someone Dutch and I became acquainted with has invited us along as like his guests. I'm not sure what we'll be doin', but I'm not so excited for it.” She explained to him.

“Can't believe you're actually g-gonna be going in that house. I used to admire the mansions in Saint Denis- when I would p-pass through there.”

Nora looked up, noticing the concentration on his face as he pulled a card from the deck, biting his lip in suspense as he pondered over the number before letting out an exhale of air when the number didn't go above twenty-one. “I did too, I guess.”

She reached forward and pulled out a card before sighing out loud as the kind brought her over the desired number and Lem snorted when he learned she lost to him again. “You gotta be cheatin', mister.”

“Guess I'm just lucky.” Nora laughed aloud when he said this and shook her head in disbelief at the claim. “You're by far the unluckiest person I met, Lemuel.”

“How k-kind of ya.”

She raised the bottle in a toast before taking a swig of it's liquid, scrunching her face at the bitter taste and gagging on it a little. “Tastes like piss.” She whispered before pouring the rest of its content out on the ground and noticing how Lem began to hide his laughter behind the back of his hand at her reaction to the beverage. His face began to turn red at his concentration to stifle the laugh which made it more obvious than it was and his joy elicited a bright smile on her face. “You're an ass.”

“I know.” He grinned before gathering the cards up once more and shuffling them together. She looked on fondly as his hands worked at the deck and took in how effortlessly they moved just to rearrange the cards for them and how gentle he had been with dealing and quickly she blurted out. “You have nice hands.”

Lem's eyebrow arched and he stopped the task to look up at her and they locked eyes before bursting into a fit of laughter at each other's expressions. Deep down she was mortified for saying such a sentence and was quick to blame it on the liquor that got to her head and he agreed knowing it to not be true, he knew Nora better than most. “Y-You have nice eyes.” He replied and she blushed a little. 

“You do too.”

“Not me.” Lem shook his head before flipping his two cards over to start their game once again. Nora copied and watched as he reached forward to take a card. “I hate my eyes.”

Nora pouted, seemingly forgetting the game they were playing before she remembered and forced herself to draw from the deck and she grinned at the close call she got to going over again. “You have.” She paused to think for an answer. “You have nice lips.”

“I have nice lips?” His ears surely must have been playing tricks on him but when he looked up and saw that smirk he knew she was just teasing now and he chuckled lowly at it. “Thanks.” But he still wasn't sure how to properly respond to it.

“You have nice lips t-too.” He mumbled.

“I know.”

Lem rolled his eyes but his focus began to deteriorate and so their game had to come to an end abruptly. He gathered all their cards and returned them to that draw in her desk before excusing himself to leave for a break to catch some fresh air. She let him leave and once he felt he had travelled far enough from the camp he was quick to find a near tree and place his head against the trunk, letting out a deep sigh from his gut.

“Cigarette?” He startled when her voice caught him off guard and quickly turned around with his hands held high to show he was defenceless as if she was some predator to him and she snorted at the reaction before shaking the packet in the air for him to see. He didn't appreciate how amused she was at his fright but took the cigarette regardless, putting it in his mouth and striking match before lighting it.

They stood in a silence that would vary between awkward and comfortable and would occasionally flick their eyes towards one another before diverting their gazes away, their behaviour like teenagers again. The corner of Lem's mouth twitched into a subtle smile when he noticed how nervous she grew around him and when his cigarette had finished he flicked the few embers out a discarded the rest of it on the ground. “So.. you think I h-have nice lips huh?” He was teasing and she knew it and yet she couldn't avoid the flush to her cheeks.

“Yes.”

He leaned down towards her and cupped her cheek with his palm; his thumb tracing gentle patterns along her freckles and slowly he would lean towards her until their noses were brushing against the other. Her breathing hitched and it became hard to think clearly and she wanted to lean into his touch and close the gap between them but something was restricting her from doing so. “Thank you.” He whispered before pulling away.

She stood bewildered as he sauntered past towards camp again and Nora managed an intake of air once it finally caught up to her what just had happened and she silently cursed at him for his torment.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The power went out at my house so while I'm missing school work here's another chapter, posted earlier than scheduled :')

“It's a pleasure to see you here!” Dutch cheered as he quickened in his steps to greet the female. Nora kicked herself from the saddle and closed the distance between them, taking his hand for a handshake before following him over towards the porch where Arthur stood, watching with an eyebrow raised. “I had Trelawny and Miss Gaskill travel into Saint Denis to buy you a dress for a such a formal occasion, they're all waiting upstairs in my room with.. Molly.” The way he said her name was forced and bitter and he grimaced at the mention.

Nora bit her tongue to not snap at him, give him a scolding for his treatment of the woman who grew up an aristocrat and instead forced herself to silently follow behind him up the stairs of the house and quickly he had pushed her behind the doors and closed them. “Dutch placed the dress here.” Molly said as she reached beneath the bed to pull open a white box, it wearing into nothing and covered in dust from the time spent away. Nora took it from her hands and placed it on the old mattress before pulling the garment out. “It looks beautiful.” She mumbled and the corner of Molly's mouth had twitched into a small smirk.

“Actually, Mary-Beth came and asked me what would be a good picking for a formal event and I said that my Ma would've said somethin' beautiful but not too flashy. They returned with this old thing and I had fixed it up a little for you.”

Nora nodded as she held it against herself, her hand running over the gold embroidery. She admired the small patterns before laying it out on the bed to admire it at a greater distance, a feeling that this had been one long dream she had yet to wake from. “I ain't never had somethin' like this to wear… it's strange.”

“You'll get to admire it plenty, for now it's best we get you ready before Dutch gets annoyed at the time we're wasting.”

* * *

The mansion was extravagant and lit so beautifully in the night that she found herself staring in awe at its exterior, mesmerized by the small details and the aura of superiority it held.

Arthur had an arm held out towards her that she took gratuitously and together the pair had followed behind the other men as they entered the party together. She behaved accordingly and spoke only when addressed and eventually Dutch had turned on his heel to face her with a gentle smile, at the same time addressing Bill and Hosea. “Why don't you go and join the party while Arthur and I talk with Bronte.”

She agreed with the idea and walked with the men outside, stopping short outside of the door so Hosea could turn to them. “Bill, listen out and gather what information could be useful. Nora for now blend in, I've told Arthur to come your way if he finds anything interesting.”

“So wait for Arthur.” She sighed and Hosea only could give her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, you couldn't do more.”

“It's fine, just glad you boys were polite enough to invite me along.” She gave Hosea a toothy grin before finally leaving their sides to stand near a group of women who held their chins high and eyes pointed down in looks of disgust. They scoffed when Nora stood near them and would occasionally spare a giggle amongst themselves, trying to disguise it by drinking from their champagne glass but Nora was far more observant than she had let on and noticed straight away their snobby attitude. 

Usually she would punch an individual if they had acted like this and in any other circumstances she probably would have done so anyway, but she chose to dig her nails into the palm of her hand and pretend to not notice.

As the party went on she had taken to drinking more champagne than cared to admit and slowly her head began to grow heavy, but she persisted on with the mission and engaged in simple pleasantries with the occasional guest who passed by and eventually she felt a cold hand squeeze her shoulder, a chill running through her flesh at the contact. “Come with me.” He whispered, gently taking her hand and pulling her from the main ring of people and towards a secluded path where she realised that he was following one of the mayor's servants. 

“Arthur?” She whispered and he only shushed her as they snuck into the house. They both took extra care in their steps and at one point the servant turned briskly on his heel and had almost caught the pair of them had it not been for Arthur's quick thinking.

He stepped forward and looked left and right before continuing on their pursuit, waving over his shoulder at her. “Come on.” She listened to instruction and broke into a gentle jog to catch up with him, the echo of her movement was loud and Nora exhaled a sharp breath through gritted teeth as she worried somebody would march over and question them about their antics.

When they were confident that the coast was clear, they both ascended a staircase and stopped short just at the top to see the servant enter a room. Arthur turned back towards Nora and extended a finger to point at the door and quietly spoke to her. “While we were bein' escorted up here our guide had shut the door before we could even get a look at it.”

“So it could be somethin' important?” Arthur nodded slowly. “It could very well be, yes.”

After a couple minutes of waiting and nobody leaving the room they had been watching, Arthur had decided that they should sneak over and hope that somehow there was another exit so the room was empty. In a big house like this neither doubted the possibility of another entrance and so quietly they tiptoed over and pushed the door open, holding their breaths in case someone was waiting on the other side.

Collectively they let out an exhale of air when they were met with an empty room and both relaxed as the door closed behind them. Nora would keep an ear open in case somebody decided to approach the room they weren't supposed to be in but fortunately for them the house was eerily quiet.

“C'mon, we need to get out of here before someone catches us.” Arthur slipped some documents behind his coat before taking Nora's hand and walking her out of the mansion and back to join the party. This time they didn't bother going quietly and rather chose quickness to exit the building. Eventually, they reunited with the other men and subtly, Arthur would pat his chest where the papers were hidden to inform Dutch that he in fact stole something of value to them.

“We should go quick.” Hosea informed as he slowly pushed the group outside. “Lenny should be around with the wagon but the longer we hang around the more likely we'll be caught for stealin', at least that is, if someone saw you.”

* * *

“Arthur, why don't you an' I talk about what you found and Nora-” Dutch turned and faced her with a false smile. “I assume you'll be headin' back home now?”

“Might stay a small while, but I do need to return before my brother's end up killin' Lem.” She shared a chuckle with the leader and just as she said that the man she mentioned had emerged from inside the old plantation house to lean against one of the pillars. She gasped when she saw him but shook her head and smiled. “But I guess I'll be stayin' longer since he's here.”

Sharply Dutch turned on his heel and scowled when he saw Lem standing there. Maintaining this ‘great leader’ persona, Dutch only shook Lem's hand in greeting before ignoring any further social interactions and entering the house. Unfazed by this, Lem only managed a small chuckle before he walked over to join Nora's side. “What are you doin' here?”

“Nice seein' you too.”

“I didn't mean it like that, just surprised was all.”

“I w-was just playin'.”

Nora took his hand and walked with him over to the round table where Mary-Beth had been sitting with a bowl of stew in hand. She mainly prodded at the chunks in the bowl and found it hard to really sit down and eat, the worry of what could have potentially happened to Kieran becoming far more concerning. “Hey, Mary-Beth.”

She only managed a lazy wave, putting on a brave face now since she had become accompanied by two new people. “How are ya feelin'?” Nora asked.

“Oh I'm fine, thank you for askin'.” She answered. “ I guess I'm still worryin' about Kieran. What if somethin'… what if somethin' bad happened.” Nora reached forward and placed a hand on top of hers, breaking out into a small whisper. “I'm sure he'll be okay, nothin' to worry about.”

Mary-Beth looked back and forth before leaning closer to speak with her, worried of being thought of as strange if someone were to overhear. “I can't shake this feelin' that he's not okay.” She told and Nora's eyebrows furrowed when she heard this.

“You really are worried, ain't ya?”

“Oh more than anythin'.”

Nora nodded. “I ain't seen or heard anythin', but I am lookin'. Eat up for now okay, Mary-Beth.”

“I'm not really that hungry.” She explained before taking the still-full bowl and walking away from the two.

“Poor girl.”

Lem folded his arms and leaned against them on the table. He gave her a subtle smile that she picked up immediately and for a short while all the two of them had been doing was staring at each other in silence. “How long had you been here anyway?”

“F-Few hours maybe.”

“Ah, they let you in?”

“No. Bill Williamson was on guard duty but eventually he let me enter the camp- was hesitant because nobody was here. Leader wise.”

“Big bad Bill.” She shook her head and smiled coyly at Bill when he looked back at the mention of his name. He only stared down at her before turning back around to face the fire, noticing the dancing flames.

Nora opened her mouth to speak more before a blood-curdling scream ripped through the quiet camp and Mary-Beth frantically pointing towards the entrance. When Nora turned to look that way her eyes began to widen and her mouth hung open in shock at the headless rider coming in.


	18. Chapter 18

Nora slowly stood from her seat, staring with wild eyes at the headless rider as the horse came to a halt in the camp. For a brief moment everything was quiet and the slightest of noises such as a pin drop could possibly be heard. 

Everyone stood bewildered at this strange display and Nora slowly walked over to a hyperventilating Mary-Beth who had tears running down her cheeks from the horror. She placed a hand on the female's shoulder but not to brashly and would gently whisper calming words in the girl's ear in the same manner that Lem would do whenever Nora grew hysterical. 

“What's that over there?” Arthur usually wouldn't have been heard but it was dead quiet and even his whispers were picked up on and Nora looked over at the bushes in time to see the slightest of movements in the distance and her heart sank to her stomach as soon as the bullets whizzed by.

Before she was cautious and gentle but now she needed to get Mary-Beth out of the open, taking her hand and pulling her away from the field and over to one of the many crates and tables lined up and no quicker did their attacker start to fire most armed members who were present began to shoot back, concentrating solely on the trees and bushes as that's where the enemy was hiding.

Even Lem, who had avoiding fights for the majority had taken to helping the Van Der Linde gang; bravery and concentration present in his face while he shot from the table. Nora had bit the inside of her cheek to focus on getting Mary-Beth inside the house and upon Dutch's instruction, the majority of gang members all began to flee indoors.

Abigail was close to entering the building but Jack in his fear ran to John's side, shouting “Papa” over the bullets and like the bastards they were, to attack a hideout knowingly unsuspecting these attackers began to fire at the boy as he scattered over the dirt. His mother screamed at him to get back and eventually John had neared him enough to pick him up and carry him over to the worried woman who briskly took him from his grasp and carried him inside. 

“Hide upstairs.” Nora shouted at Mary-Beth and later at Lem as he ran past to hide indoors. She slid behind cover at the fountain with Arthur and with her lancaster in hand would shoot at any movement she caught a glimpse off and a lot of the time a pained cry would follow as she successfully hit a target. 

When she looked to her right she saw the canoe filled with O'Driscoll's, their uniforms obvious and quickly she shot that way so they couldn't catch them off guard. “Bastards are comin' in on boats.” And another shot, taking her target successfully.

For the first time in what felt like forever, she was able to participate in a fight without the unsettling nerves inside and had returned to that former self where she felt confident in her bravery and skill but not all thesegood films could last forever when a bullet ricocheted off of the fountain in front of her. It missed her by inches but how close of a call it was startled her and the want to protect the group became lost and replaced with the severity of the situation they were in.

Arthur picked up immediately on the change of air around her, kicking her shin gently and dragging her back towards the house with John behind but she managed to break free from the firm grip held on her shoulder. She pushed Arthur inside the building and he almost did step outside to grab her and prevent whatever foolish antics she had building up inside but John only shook his head which stopped him from doing so. “She ain't one of us, son.” He hadn't even noticed Dutch standing there.

“She's fightin' for us, both her and Lem were.” Arthur spat through gritted teeth. He elbowed his way past his father-figure and ran up the creaky staircase to stand out on the balcony to in the very least, help Nora from above but when he got there it was quiet and Nora wasn't found.

“Is she inside?” He met Lem on the landing but her companion only looked confused.

“W-Who?”

“Nora she's not out there anymore.”

“I came out here to find her, s-she ain't hiding.”

And they both shared an equal look of worry when the realisation kicked in and making matters a whole lot worse both men realised that not even Sadie Adler was inside when she had been instructed too. It annoyed Arthur to no end that both women had failed to listen and were stuck out there and the O'Driscoll's were not dying down, only growing in numbers. He shared one worried glance with Dutch and before he could decline anything his son was gone, back out in the open to find Sadie and their friend.

“Mrs Adler!” Arthur called out and got no answer, not from the front of the house and so he quickly turned around to investigate behind it and conveniently just as he did so he heard the familiar cry from her. It was just as before if her own home back in those mountains and thinking she had been in danger he quickly broke into a sprint and ran for the direction he believed her to be, soon finding her fighting three O'Driscoll's at once with an ease that frightened him.

“You seem to be handlin' yourself.” He commented and the woman only chuckled before pocketing the knife and switching it for a gun. “Come on, Arthur. We can take these bastards.”

“We need to get inside.” Was all he had to say but the woman did not listen to instruction and decided to run off further into an onslaught of O'Driscoll's men.

Arthur groaned at her incompetence, running after her.

“Arthur help Nora!” She cried out and her finger had been extended over towards the female. He turned just in time to see her get tackled to the floor and wrestle for a small while as the attacker brandished a knife dangerously close, but she was struggling to keep the blade away. He didn't aim as he fired and she flinched with the gunshots so close to her, arms covering her head and although he was dead as his body went limp the blade was still able to slice part of her shoulder and she cried out at the sting of it.

“Shit.” He muttered running to her aid and kicking the corpse off of her. From the small wound in her shoulder and the dead man laying on top of her, the clothes she wore became soaked in blood. “You alright?”

“Yeah.” She held a hand up but shrieked with the ache and pain that flared through her arm, the wound cutting deeper than she initially thought or felt and it hurt to move it further up than she liked. Arthur quickly pulled her to her feet which didn't help matters but couldn't do much but leave her standing before they had to fight more O'Driscoll's. 

Nora's hand was covering the wound to prevent the blood and her arm was bend awkwardly to shoot at them but she was capable of continuing with the fight alongside the other's, a wound wouldn't inconvenience her.

“Nora get inside.” Arthur warned her once part of the firing ceased and she was ready to defend herself before she noticed riders coming in from the roads. She pointed and he sighed as they kept coming and luckily for them Charles soon would join in to help them.

With Sadie, Charles and Arthur they were unstoppable all three were strong and capable when it came to a fight. Nora helped but her arm would restrict her some times so she couldn't fire as much as she pleased, to focused on the pain to aim properly but they all dealt with the lot of them and managed to succeed in the fight they were so unwillingly thrown into.

“We'll talk to you two later.” Arthur warned the woman over the unsettling quiet the camp returned too and he followed Charles around to the front in time to see Dutch and Hosea emerge from inside.

“What fun that had been.” Dutch remarked before walking over to the headless rider.

“But who is this poor fool?”

“It ain't Kieran is it?” Nora muttered but her words were heard. “No, I don't think it is.”

“Good.” She nodded.

Arthur looked at Grimshaw who had been leading both the women outside and he called the authoritarian over. “What is it, Mr. Morgan.”

“Miss Morgan here's got a nastier wound on her shoulder than thought, think you can patch her up.”

Grimshaw smirked as she handed her shotgun over to Mary-Beth who only seemed surprised with the weapon given to her. “I know I can patch her up.” She replied before pushing the female back inside the house. As she disappeared indoors Arthur could hear how Grimshaw turned around to mention Lem's worry over being left outside but Nora didn't give an answer only sulking in silence.

Dutch pointed for reverend to call him over, before motioning at the corpse with his hand. “Swanson, bury this fool somewhere far from here and as for the O'Driscoll's- burn them.”

Mary-Beth tapped Arthur's shoulder and the enforcer looked behind to offer her a kind smile, one she reciprocated. “If we don't know who they killed, then could that mean Kieran's alive?” She whispered into his ear because she worried about somebody overhearing.

“It could but Mary-Beth we shouldn't get our hopes up.” He hummed but she stopped listening at the 'it could', this smile present as she walked away to join Karen over by the river. He sighed once she disappeared and took the opportunity to walk back inside just as Susan told Nora off for moving or something. 

“How's it goin' in here?” He asked and Nora gave him a harsh glare before turning away.

“Nora's not happy being fussed over- said that someone else should be looked at before her.” Lem answered.

“Is someone else injured?”

“No, nobody is.”

Arthur sighed before taking out a cigarette to pass over to Lem, who only shook his hand to decline the offer. “How are you feelin', Nora?”

“I'm fine, arm's stiff. For a dead guy he managed to cut it deeper than I thought.” Nora then hissed through her teeth when Susan prodded the flesh near the wound with her finger and the only woman only chuckled at her reaction.

“How are the other's?”

“Oh fine; most of 'em are used to this. Jack's gonna be shaken up for a while but I don't think he saw too much.”

Nora tutted. “Poor kid.” Susan pulled away with a pleased smile, wiping blood off of her hands and into the material of her skirt. “Now you make sure not to use that arm too much and you-” She turned around and pointed a slender finger at Lem, giving him a stern eye. “You make sure she listens.”

“I'll try.” Lem sighed. “Nora's as stubborn as they come. Might have to tie her hand down.”

“Tie it down if you have too.”

He thanked the woman as she left the pink room before he sat next to Nora on the table. Grimshaw had to undo part of her blouse and pull a strap down on her chemise in order to expose the wound for care and before Nora would find herself embarrassed by such a scandalous display, as of right now she sat there with the chemise slowly sliding further down and unbothered by it.

“I ought to go wash off some of this blood soon.” Nora's good arm was stretched out before her and she looked at the staining on her sleeves and hands, disgusted by just how much she had got on her.

“Want me to send one of the women over to help you?”

Nora looked up to answer, ready to reply with a ‘yes’ but an idea flashed in her mind when she remembered that her best friend had been sitting by her. “Thank you but Lem can help me.”

“You can g-guess again if you think I'm gonna help.” She gasped at his quick wit and looked over, expecting him to be flushed red and stuttering more than the usual but instead he looked at her with a smug grin and Arthur broke out into a fit of laughter at it. “How kind of you, Lemuel.”

“I know.” He chuckled. “If you really want my help then I s'pose I can, wouldn't be the first time.”

“It wouldn't be?”

“Nora gets shot or s-stabbed often, Arthur.”

“Seems a hassle lookin' out for her.” Lem laughed and shook her head; taking her hand and pulling her to a stand when she requested his favour. “Nora looks out for me a lot more than I do her.”

“Now you know that ain't true.”

“She gets injured more often than not due to m-my idiocy. She's just bein' polite.”

The three left the house and Dutch greeted them with a small wave as he went back to helping with the bodies still lying around camp, groaning as he tried dragging one over near the river. “Lem an' I should get goin', y'all seem busy and I wouldn't wanna intrude longer.”

“Ya make a mess an' run when it's time to clean up is it?” Arthur was only joking with her and she realised it quickly when she laughed along, nodding slowly. “Guess you saw through that half-lie.”

“You just watch that arm okay?”

Lem mounted his horse and reached down to take Nora's hand and with Arthur's help he had pulled her up to sit on the rump of his own horse to minimise the strain she'd put on the injury if she had mounted Casper. “I will.” She replied, adjusting to sit comfortably.

He waved them off as soon as they left and watched until they had disappeared behind the trees.

* * *

Lem waited outside the door while she climbed into the bath, giving her the privacy needed until she called him in. It wasn't the first time this had happened of course so by now he should have been used to it and yet every time he always got so nervous, just as any gentleman should in such circumstances.

He took to smoking to calm his nerves and it worked for a short while before he had heard her gently call his name, saying that he was allowed in. He took a dip breath as he flicked finished off his cigarette, placing the butt in an ashtray and gently opening the door to walk in. She smiled at him gently, pushing some bubbles closer to cover herself a little more.

“How are you feelin'?”

“Tired mostly and sore.”

“I saw that cut, weren't anythin' nice.” He replied as he walked over to the side of the bathtub. She chuckled lowly, watching every move he made from the way he would awkwardly swallow his nerves or how slowly he dipped his hand into the water only to quickly pull away when his fingers brushed over her knee.

“Cuts usually ain't nice.”

“But some are better than other's, leavin' no scars.”

“What's another scar to the collection.”

Lem nodded slowly before taking a handful of soapy water to clean off some of the blood on her shoulders. He avoided her gaze completely as he focused on the stains but felt her staring, almost meeting her eyes a couple of times before snapping back into her senses and remembering exactly where they had been. “Your brothers aren't gonna be keen on knowing you got injured again.”

“And your aunt won't be happy knowing that you got caught up in all that.” She replied and his soft chuckle had lightened the situation a little, making less intense and awkward than it needed to be. 

“Try not to move while I clean near the wound, Nora.” He warned before taking his hand to some of the flesh near. He didn't touch the wound but the area around it was still fairly sensitive and she hissed when his hand make contact. “Shit.” He cursed and followed it with a string of apologies that she smiled at, waving a hand to dismiss his worry. “It's fine.” She told him and he slowly went back to cleaning the area near the wound again.

He noticed how her jaw clenched to prevent her from crying out again and he disliked how she did that but he continued wiping the blood away, as gently as he could manage. “How'd you get that scar on your forehead again?” He asked once he noticed the silence building between them and she raised her good arm to run a finger over it.

“Thought I told you recently?”

“You may have brought it up.”

“I bring it up often for you.” Lem chuckled at her words and nodded slowly. “I like hearin' it.”

Nora rolled her eyes as she pushed more bubbles her way but they were slowly beginning to dissolve into the water as she remained there. “I had been runnin' around Blackwater when I was younger, chasin' some friends as any child did and I didn't see two men carryin' a plank of wood down the path.” A smile began to form on Lem's face and she hadn't even finished her story yet. “I ran straight into it and went flyin' back, got this cut as a reminder to not go chasin' my friends about. Ma was worried and Pa was pissed, although he was pissed more with me than anyone else.”

“Hard to think that the tough Nora Morgan that I know and l-love who fights whole armies, stubbornly, is t-the same girl who ran into a wooden p-plank.”

“Know and love?” She gasped and Lem arched an eyebrow at the repeat of his own words when he realised what he had said his face sank. “W-Well.. not quite i-in-”

“You've gone soft, Lem.”

“Oh, quiet will you.” He replied and she laughed at the red in his cheeks. She pointed over towards the door where a towel hung for her and asked him to bring it over so she could finally get out of the bathtub. He did and just as before closed his eyes and held it open while he waited for her to climb out. “You don't need to close your eyes, ain't like you ain't seen anything before.”

“I'm jus' being p-polite, Nora.”

She grabbed the towel and wrapped it around her before walking behind a pretty divider that clean clothes for her were waiting, most notably a shirt she had seen Lem wear once before. “Didn't realise you had spare clothes with you.”

“I pack a shirt just in case.”

“In case of what?”

“You gettin' covered in blood; like you so notoriously do.”

She rolled her eyes but only managed to pull one sleeve on; struggling with the other as her arm would burn at the most slightest of movements. She walked out and smiled at Lem who had since opened his eyes but had been looking at the paintings on the walls instead. “Mind helpin'?”

“Course not.” He had to slide the one sleeve down to slip the other one onto her bad arm but with some movement, she had finally gotten the shirt on comfortably. She was ready to do the buttons up to but Lem decided that he would like to help her with that too, making quick work of a task that probably would have taken her a little longer. 

He reached the top button and looked up and for the first time their eyes finally met. His breathing became laboured and just like a couple of days prior he found himself leaning ever so slightly closer to Nora but before anything more could happen he finally regained his bearings and looked away, clearing his throat to break the awkward tension between them.

“We should go now, can't keep the bath occupied for too long I'm afraid.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my dear friend Abby for beta reading this for me, their Tumblr is @bucketofcowboys so I highly recommend checking them out!
> 
> Thank you so much for the assistance, dear. You're a delight!!

Nightfall. 

It was the time she felt the most unsafe. Vulnerable.   
The restricted areas could provide ample opportunity for attackers to strike unannounced, the fear heightened with her uncertainty of what was lurking in the shadows.

Nighttime, when everything was asleep and she lay there with eyes opened wide, meant that her greatest fears could haunt her and she could not prevent them.

She lay there, chewing her lip as her cot began to burn in a blazing inferno surrounding her. Nora tried countless times to get up and run while the fire engulfed her tent and everything she ever owned but she was powerless against the force pinning her down, keeping her pinned against the bed. 

“Help.” She wanted to cry, but her mouth failed and her voice never came out; not even in hushed whispers.

She lay helpless while the fire kept getting higher.

She lay afraid. 

* * *

She learned her dreams slowly were becoming more life-like. Although they had been before she was able to quickly decipher what was real and what wasn't. However, that dream from the night before was more real than she could have ever imagined. And when she did finally wake it was as if a weight had been lifted from her chest and she had to draw in a few deep breaths to get a grip back on her breathing. She had to calm herself before she broke out into hysterics again and woke her whole camp.

Lem was a light sleeper and always had been since his time in jail, so when he heard the startled gasp and the heavy breathing his sleep abandoned him. There were more important things other than what he needed, and Nora wouldn't sleep for another couple days if she had been left alone to deal with her troubles.

He rose from the bedroll that James provided, grateful to be free from the damp earth. Some days he wished for a warm spot to lay but being unliked by two of the most important figures in the gang meant that he was lucky to not be sleeping with a pile of dog shit under his pillow.

She picked up on the movements immediately and inhaled sharply to shush herself, she didn't know who or what could be lurking out there and frankly, she didn't want to find out.

“Nora.” But she got her answer when her name had been called.

“I'm fine.” Her voice cracked when she spoke, a clear sign that she had been crying. 

“You don't sound i-it.”

Gently she let out a sigh before walking over to the tent flaps and pulling them open. Met with only darkness and no Lem, she looked around but failed in finding him, and so she thought that their entire conversation had been made up. Was her nightmare still happening and now attacking her while at her most vulnerable? Using her friends against her?

She sobbed quietly into her palm, overwhelmed, and fell backwards on the boards of her tent. She yelped in pain when she made contact with the wood and hissed through gritted teeth, but not a stir was made in camp at the noise made. Surely it should have woken somebody, but it was dead quiet.

“Lem.” She whisper-shouted. Unsure on why she expected anything to call back and answer, but she was disappointed when the silence met.

Using her cot for support she gripped hold of the blankets and cushions to pull her up; hissing in pain at the burn through her bad arm. It felt as though the flesh had torn open again with her movement and she collapsed back to the floor with the lack of support she provided when her arm recoiled.

The pain felt too real and then she realised that this was far from a dream. Yet nobody how much noise she made her campmates seemed undisturbed and sound asleep, unaware.

Eventually, she managed to pull herself up and once standing she brought her hand to poke at the wound to assess what damage she had caused. H and her worries were confirmed when she pulled her fingers away to see the trickle of red run down them. 

“There goes restin' it.”

She pulled the tent flaps open and entered the cool night air, a chill swept over her once she had done so and the rain began to fall over again. 

She left the dry area her tent provided and clung onto what little warmth she could get in the thin layer of clothing she wore. Shivering as she walked over to the campfire she figured that sitting there would be a lot better than secluded in her own small space, despite the rain she felt a lot better as though a curse was lifted from inside.

She heard the rustle from behind and turned to see Lemuel twisting in his sleep, clearly disturbed from the water that washed over. At least her brother's were kind enough to provide him with a bedroll to sleep on but clearly weren't happy with giving him any sort of shelter to protect from the harsher weather. She wondered how Lem of all people could sleep right now, especially given that in the past the rustle of leaves would be enough to wake him.

She hated to see him whimper against the cold and slowly she walked until she stood over his sleeping body.

She crouched down to his height and placed her hand gently upon his shoulder and it was as though a spell was lifted because even though the rain didn't wake him before her soft touch did. His eyes widened and he pushed away from Nora at first, not recognising her but when his eyes adjusted he quickly learned that it was her and he was in no danger. 

“Are you alright?” She whispered. 

Lem looked up before pulling her down onto the mud with him; holding tightly as he slowly began to sob into her shoulder.

She let him and even squeezed him a little tighter for comfort and he seemed to appreciate the affection. “What happened?” She whispered into his ear but was met with silence, save for his crying.

Her hand would gently rub up and down his arm and he slowly calmed until his tears stopped. Lem pulled away and ran the heel of his hand under his eyes to wipe away what remained before looking at her a little embarrassed, shown by his awkward smile. “Sorry.” He felt obligated to say.

“It's fine. No shame in crying.”

“I don't know- I remember havin' a nightmare... it a-ain't important though.”

“Sure it is, if you're willing to share I'm here to listen.” Her hands fit nicely in his and he couldn't help but smile at the kindness she provided. His hands found their way to cup her cheek and she leaned into the touch, but the moment didn't last long when the babbling idiot emerged from his den. 

“What the hell!” Harry shouted when he saw his sister with Lem and she sighed the minute her gaze wandered over to greet him.

“Hello, Harold.” She slowly stood and then the pain in her arm surged through her again, this awful feeling shooting all up her arm and igniting. She didn't want to cause unnecessary alarm and bit down on her tongue to disguise the hiss but Lem noticed the tears brimming in her eyes, and he was no fool to see the blood staining her clothes. “Why don't you go back to bed and mind your business, it's late.”

He stood with his mouth agape before forcing a nod and retreating to his bed. 

“What happened to your arm?”

“I must've opened it up trying to stand. Ain't nothin' though.”

Lem shook his head and followed her back into her tent, grateful to be out of the rain but the cold was just the same and his wet clothes didn't shift his temperature either, it felt as though it made matters worse. “It's somethin', mind if I have look?”

“Go ahead.” She lit a lantern on an old desk. He gently pulled her nightgown down her shoulder, enough to expose the cut and remove the cloth that Grimshaw had wrapped around it. The blood caused it to stick to the flesh and as he pulled it away he was the one to hiss in retaliation to seeing it, a noise that did not reassure Nora in the slightest.

“What a lovely thing to hear.” Her response was sarcastic and Lem chuckled lowly as he told her to sit back down on the cot. She listened and when done so he left the tent to later return with what was needed to clean it.

He worked gently but quickly as he knew the pain she felt from such a vital task but that didn't stop the guilt building inside at the discomfort he caused.

“We don't h-have any dressing's, do we?”

Nora shook her head and gasped when he poked the cut with his finger.

“Should do.”

Lem pulled away and smiled at the female before placing what supplies he brought on the table near. She looked on, this mischievous twinkle in her eye but quickly tore her attention away when she remembered their muddy clothes from the rain they had caught themselves in before.

“Thank you.”

* * *

_“He's still not jealous is he?” Nora looked up from the glass and Maggie nodded slowly. “It's been five months and he still hates that your attention isn't on him. He's twenty-eight and can't handle his aunt having a bit of company around.”_

_“Lem, well…”_

_“I was bein' harsh, sorry.”_

_Maggie poured Nora another glass, their celebration still ongoing. Marcel's humming was far from quiet and women heard it very clearly from where they sat, a whole floor above him._

_“Nothin' to apologise over.” Maggie tapped at the table with her fingers, dust rising from the surface with her drumming to fill the void of silence. “Lem's jealous, but he sure talks fondly of you often.”_

_“Really?” Nora looked surprised, eliciting a sort of laugh from the elder._

_“Oh yes, it's amusing to listen to half the time.”_

_“You gotta tell me what he's said.”_

_“I promised not too. And most of it, I don't want to. But he likes your company. Hell, you should have seen the pout when I told him he had an errand today.”_

_“He's sweet, Lem is. Saw him in Valentine a few days ago and never have I seen someone so quick to hide a blush.”_

_“What can I say? He likes you.”_

* * *

Lem had practically been sulking most of the morning after he slept, and the negative mood only irritated Nora's brothers more than the usual. Harry made it apparent, he always made his distrust and general hate of Lemuel Fike apparent, but at least James was more on the neutral side. Sure he would participate in the bullying but more often than not James would also take Nora's side if he felt the teasing went too far.

James eventually did stop the laughing and sat opposite Lem at the table, his stew in hand as he greeted the male fondly and for a moment this sudden shift in attitude concerned Lem; expected a cruel prank to be played on him at any moment.

“Hello, Fike.”

“Morgan.”

James reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled a small coin purse out, flicking his wrist and letting it go to throw it at him. It landed with a rattle against the table. “What's this for?”

“Your take.”

He arched an eyebrow and quickly looked up, unsure on what James could mean, and slowly leaned forward to push the money back. “I fail to see what you mean.”

“From bounties, dipshit. When we do one we divide the money equally amongst us, since we don't have a box for donations and the like.”

“But I didn't earn this money; I can't keep it.”

“Neither does Cripps, but he's more than eager to take it from our hands and spend it on shit beer.”

“He's b-been like that for a l-long time.”

James' eyes narrowed slightly before the man pushed back over what little money collected and this time it was taken with no questions asked. “Nora told y-you to give i-it me, didn't she?”

“Yep.” James replied and with that he took his leave, and went back to talking with his twin. Lem turned behind in time to see Nora look away as she had been caught staring, using her book as a perfect excuse despite the dark tint of red that dusted her cheeks.

He approached her with that same grin he used so often and she knew he was walking over to her. Not only could she feel his stare but she could also hear the sounds of his boots against the mud while he walked. “Why'd you get him to give me money?”

“Don't know what you talkin' about.” She turned the page on her book and read it far too quickly than expected, a giveaway that she wasn't actually reading it.

“But you do, J-James also told me.”

Nora shook her head slowly and closed her book shut, the noise loud enough to startle Lem who hoped that she didn't notice the slight jump of his. But Nora was observant when she shouldn't be and laughed when she saw. “I'm afraid, I don't.”

She gave him a little wink and left the area of her tent to care for the many horses the gang owned; giving them a well-needed brush after the weather and ground of the heartlands caused their coats to gather dust. “Lovely girl, ain't you.”

His words went unnoticed and she resumed her grooming of the horses.

* * *

_“Your aunt says you talk of me often.” Her voice was carried in a teasing manner and Lem caught himself flustered at the confrontation._

_“You're real nice, c-can you blame me?” Nora only gave him a small smile, placing her hand on top of the boy's shoulder to give a gentle squeeze and his breath caught in his throat at the touch._

_“I think you're sweet, too.” She leaned up and gently pressed a kiss to his cheek and his face heated up._

_He didn't know what to say in response but a small “Thank you.” slipped out and he grew brighter from embarrassment that she seemed to enjoy, even giggling a little under her breath._


	20. Chapter 20

That day replayed on loop in her head often and she would usually find herself trembling with the frightening flashes of light from shooting guns and the gruesome sight of that headless horseman would appear before her eyes. At first, she thought that it had been Kieran like Micah told but after more thinking she realised that it didn't look like the boy at all.

She was curious on how Micah managed to convince the majority of the gang's members that this was their missing campmate, but they weren't the brightest group of individuals and she deemed that a valid excuse in itself.

Perhaps the events of that night were only coming back to her now for a reason? One she wanted the answers to sooner to save herself from inevitable nightmares to come. That's how they usually started and her repressing them proved to be dangerous later on, otherwise she probably wouldn't still be suffering after those events a whole year after.

“How are ya?” Cripps greeted her fondly, taken to standing in the clearing just outside of the trees with a lit cigarette in hand. She had no answer for him because she did not want to confess her concerns so soon but eventually somebody would need to be trusted so she wouldn't end up plagued by it. So she lied, at least for now. “Fine.”

“Well, that is good to hear.” He shook the embers out and dropped the butt to the ground once he had finished smoking, but the smoke lingered over them, almost choking. It felt thicker than what it should be but perhaps she was only being dramatic. “Listen, I got a job for you.”

“There's always a job, isn't there?” Her attitude irked Cripps. “Now you ain't done shit for us in day's, I figured that while you been hanging around here that you would like something to do.”

“I'm exhausted, can't you send one of the boy's out on it?” She waved back at camp and the older male simply stood firm with his arms crossed. “Lem's going with you, as are James an' Harry.”

“I feel like you're just tryin' to get us out of camp.” Nora intended it as a joke but Cripps failed to see it that way, immediately choosing to turn defensive and dismiss the claim. It earned that suspicious look in Nora's eye and eventually she let out a quiet sigh, nodding as she accepted whatever Cripps had in mind. “What is it?”

Cripps gave her a wicked grin before explaining just what it was he had in mind.

* * *

“Cripps has really sent us out on this?” Harry could not believe it, huddled together in a group all armed with rifles as they waited for an eastern turkey to scurry by.

Whenever they wanted to go hunting the lands were sparse and not even a wild horse would gallop past and it came as no surprise that the animals seemed to appear when they were not needed. There was only so much patient the group had together, from Harry and James' despise towards Lem and how little care she had left in her brother's attitudes towards the individual she had called a friend.’ So when they were all forced together as a group to undergo the most patient job ever sent on, well, the troubles started to build up behind bitten tongues and the want to take their frustrations out on the other became strong.

“I swear we should move to find them damn turkeys, are you even sure that they come this way?” Harry bitterly said.

“Positive now shut the hell up or they'll runoff.”

Her brother simply rolled his eyes at the comment. James would soon tap his shoulder and gently motion for him to follow, sneaking away from the bushes they hid in after growing tired for waiting around too long. They thought they were being sneaky but Nora knew very well by the scraping of twigs against branches and the snapping of twigs beneath their feet that they were leaving and she smirked because unbeknownst to them it was what she planned.

Curiously, Lem would watch them ride away with cheers as they thought they got away with it and gave Nora a quizzical look to question her letting them do that and she replied with a small shrug at first before going into further explanation. “They'd get tired eventually and would leave us alone, it cleared the air of tension a bit and they're probably gonna go and hunt us a turkey now on their own to prove just how better they are.”

“So what are we gonna do then?”

“Well we're gonna collect that wagon because we were never told to make a trade, fella's already got what he needs and more and so Cripps was able to convince him into handin' it over.”

He found himself impressed by the antics and followed her out of the brambles and leaves to the small clearing where their horses waited and during their walk, he praised her for the idea, but never admitting how grateful he was that she got rid of her brothers. Any longer and he felt that they would have killed him then and there. “So where is the wagon then?”

“Just a little south, near Flat Iron lake.”

“You ain't worried t-that they're gonna head down there?”

She shook her head. “With any luck they'll have some sense knocked into them, if they do and besides, Harry'll probably take James towards Cumberland Forest.”

It felt ridiculous hearing it over but the boys weren't the brightest of the bunch so he believed it, but then again, neither was he.

“Can't believe that worked... I don't d-doubt you at all but somethin' that simple tricked 'em?”

“Surprisingly, but ain't you lived here for… twenty-eight years and still get lost in most places?”

Quickly the male shook his head but did appear to be embarrassed with Nora's statement and she gently gave his shoulder a gentle pat. “I still get lost sometimes, too. Ain't nothin' wrong in going the wrong way.”

As they came close to Flat Iron lake he had been first to spot the wagon, sitting just off of the path near a makeshift camp set up for this other trader Cripps mentioned. He greeted the two fondly and even handed over a small can of beans to be polite and they accepted it with a bright smile and many words of thanks before moving out with the wagon Cripps wanted them to gather. 

Sticking to the roads, while tediously long, was the best route to go and Lem had even taken to whistling old tunes from his younger days that Nora seemed familiar with. She would nod along but never joined it, just that bit embarrassed to accidentally make a fool of herself and be teased about it for years to come. “Maggie's asked if you're still any good playin' instruments.” After a while, he decided that it was time to initiate conversation. 

“Why?”

“I don't know... but she asked and a-all I could say was that I'd have to ask ya.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line before nodding slowly, despite having not played for a while she would probably remember something good enough to play at Fike's request. “Guess I am.”

“Great. I think she'll be glad hearin' it.”

The corner of Nora's mouth turned up into a slight smirk before she kicked back into focusing on their journey home, with Lem back to whistling and tapping his knuckles against the bench.

* * *

“Good work, with this we should have a full supply soon.”

“Does this mean I can leave now?”

Cripps quickly revealed a letter, handing it over but held a concerned expression on his face. “This was left for you.”

“Off?”

“Feller didn't give a name, but seemed to know ya.”

She gently looked at Lem before tearing the envelope apart. The paper inside was old and the ink had bled considerably, the writing almost impossible to read but with Lem's help they were able to decipher the introduction and the task she had been asked to do.

“Whoever dropped this off needs me to meet 'em near Riggs Station and to go alone.” She said, the instructions sounded suspicious straight away. “You ain't gonna go, are you?”

“I am, Fike.” He didn't take too kindly to her answer, his brows knitting together before she even had a chance to explain. “I ain't b-bright but I know that, that l-letter has danger scribbled all over it.”

“I'll be fine.”

“I don't trust you going, Nora.”

“Look, you can't make me do shit, I'm going and that's final. But even I know that this don't seem right, ‘go alone’ has suspect written all over. Just, ride out a few hours after me and you'll know if somethin' happens, if something does.”

“Why the hell are you bein' so goddamn stubborn.”

“Whatever.”

She grabbed her bolt-action from the weapon locker and with one, forced smile, left camp much to his protests of distrust in the writing.

“Why is she a-always like this, JB?”

“I don't know, son. I don't know.”

* * *

Just as instructed she rode down towards the train station and continued further down the trail, eventually coming to a small clearing where a man shrouded in a dark coat was stood. He had his back turned but knew she was there, cleared his throat as a manner of introduction as he rose from his stool.

“Nora Morgan?” He asked and she noticed the strong Irish accent immediately. She didn't want to jump to conclusions too soon, but most folk around the area who dressed in black and came from Ireland were notoriously members of the O'Driscoll's. 

“I am. You are?”

“That don't matter.” She heard the rustling in bushes around, her hand moving to hover over the holster ready to draw her revolver and very quickly someone else, dressed in that similar fashion had leapt out in front of her. She was quick to draw her gun but had it knocked from her grasp when someone managed to grab her arm and force it out. Her bad arm being twisted uncomfortably and forcing out a cry of pain soon after.

“And he said that it wouldn't be easy takin' you down. Look at you, pathetic little thing.” She tried struggling against them but whoever had her apprehended was far more stronger than she was. “Walk her away, Colm will be pleased to see her.”

She struggled a little more, managing to put up a good enough fight so that they couldn't walk far with her but unfortunately they had taken to more of a drastic approach, taking the butt of her gun and hitting her head with it; enough to make her dazed and fall to the ground. He stood over her, this sinister grin on her face before connected her boot with her head. 

The last thing she heard before falling unconscious was his laughter. The last thing she saw, was Lem's expression of worry and then there was nothing.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for depictions of violence and torture in this chapter. It is nothing too vulgar but may be upsetting for certain viewers, your are advised to proceed with caution.

Nora came to in an unrecognisable place. The floor was slightly flooded and her feet froze against the cold air mixed with water. Nora began hyperventilating as a panic set in and the noises she made must have been loud enough for whoever was outside to hear.

A lock pulled open and with a bang the door opened and slowly he descended the stone stairs with a sinister smile, face framed with a head of greasy grey hair and she choked on her own breath once the recognition kicked in. “Colm.”

“It's great to finally meet the bitch who's been helpin' he who I hate most.” He sounded just as imagined; an Irish bastard who thought he was greater than the world and it made her sick to her stomach. She knew what he had done. Nora had heard of his crimes and even witnessed the aftermath of what he was capable of while out on her rides. She felt like she would throw up at any moment, being here. “I ain't done shit.”

He shook his head, a hand moving to poke her injury she earned from that ambush at Shady Belle. She withheld the pain but felt on the verge of screaming out when he touched it and his fingers were in no state of cleanliness either. “Your old friend has told me all about you. Kieran. I'm sure you're familiar.”

“I don't know no Kieran.” He pressed deeper and this time she yelped at the feeling. He seemed pleased with it and recoiled his hand. “Oh, he told me all about you and about that gang. It's a shame because you really trusted him.”

“Kieran would never-” She didn't get the chance to finish before he had smacked her across the face. She was stunned at first, forgetting how to breathe altogether before finally coming back to grips with the function.

“But he did; how d'you think we found their hideout.”

“I don't know why you're involvin' me.”

Colm sneered, balling his fist and hitting her again which prompted a gasp to fall from her lips. “Because Kieran got away, as did Arthur, so who better to get to Dutch than the bitch who is the only reason half of them are still alive?”

“Dutch don't care about me an' they been survivin' fine without me.”

“Don't matter.” Colm said, bringing down his fist against but this time only hitting harder. She tried to suppress her agony to not give him the satisfaction but he heard her gentle cry and it amused him to no end.

Colm unholstered his gun and she felt the breath hitch in her throat, worrying for her own life. He pointed the barrel at her hand and a blur of emotions flashed before her eyes, memories both fond and forgotten. Tears fell astray and he laughed at the obvious fear he settled into her before flipping the gun over and hitting her with it repeatedly until she begged him to stop.

“You're gonna help us get our way, Nora.” He sneered. “Or we'll kill that friend of yours, what was his name? Lemuel?”

With wide eyes she looked back at him, confirming what rumours he heard before. “Lemuel it is, then.”

“Just leave him, he ain't involved.” She sounded weak and frail and it was the direct approach that Colm wanted to go. He expected her to not break so easily; maybe the stories Kieran told him were an exaggeration after all. “Goodnight.” He sang before leaving the cellar and locking her in once again.

* * *

The nights were the hardest. She tried to close her eyes, focus on other things and sleep but it always escaped her. No matter how hard she tried she was not free of the hell she faced currently. But each time she closed her eyes her mind wandered back to Lem and how he warned her against going and how she didn't listen to him at all. He would be so disappointed with her, mad even. 

Nora didn't want to go back knowing how upset Lem would be with her but she also couldn't stay there knowing the very last thing she did with the man was argue. “Quit feelin' sorry for yourself.” Colm sneered and she winced slightly just from his presence alone.

“What do you want now?”

“I'm just enjoyin' seeing you so.. vulnerable.”

Nora whimpered as she looked up at him before quickly pulling away to avoid his harsh gaze.

He didn't even need to do anything and she was already cowering in her chair. It pleased him, seeing her trying to back away in the chair but never having anywhere to go from the rope that bound her. 

Countless times he considered cutting her free and having his own way, but he was being considerate… for now.

“Your friends still haven't shown up for you. How sad.”

“They ain't goin' too, I ain't nothin' but disposable for them. Hell, you keepin' me here is givin' them enough chances to move on out.”

Colm's grin flickered briefly into a frown before he grabbed his revolver. She thought he was going to shoot it but instead, he held onto the barrel and brought the butt into her stomach, winding her.

Nora gasped, struggling to take in air and causing a revolting pleasure to surge inside of Colm. He grabbed a fist full of her hair, just taking in the face he considered pretty before letting her go. He had enough fun that evening. , Seeing her cry was enough.

He left the basement and the hatch slammed closed behind him. Cutting off the outside world once again.

* * *

Daylight speckled lightly on the stairs, but it was still so dark in that basement. Colm hadn't been down since the night before so she believed the infamous outlaw had left her alone. With any luck that would be one of those days where she could get a break from his cruelty. 

Nora twisted the ropes around her wrist, wincing as it scratched and burned the skin. She almost gave up when she felt the flesh go raw but eventually the knots loosened enough so she could slip one of her wrists free. With both her hands no longer bound together she untied her feet from the chair legs and slowly, although hesitantly, stood.

Her knees felt weak and almost buckled underneath her but Nora managed to balance herself enough to not completely collapse and eventually felt she was well enough to continue on her escape out of the building. Around the cellar she failed to find anything that could be used as a weapon, a knife or perhaps a blunt object but for some strange reason, there wasn't anything near. “Shit.”

If she wanted the opportunity to escape she had to take it now before Colm came back and caught her, how she feared what would happen if he did. 

She was hungry and she was cold but that was no valid excuse to remain hostage here while she had the opportunity. No matter how much she wanted to curl up into a ball and allow the earth to swallow her, she couldn't. She'd say it was for herself when in reality she only wanted to get back to Lem. How she missed him and his ability to somehow always be right… mostly. 

“When did Colm say he'll be back?” Nora hid immediately when she heard how close the voice was. Luckily for her, he seemed to be walking away from the hatch but at any time he could simply turn around and walk back, to see her escape. 

Her feet would rub against the inside of her boots and she winced at the unfavourable pain, but fortunately for her she didn't need to walk too far as their horses were left conveniently close by. Nora knew that perhaps the O'Driscoll's were not the smartest of the bunch but even she would have thought that they knew not to leave the best way to escape so close by.

They were drunk too, half of them already passed out. So the opportunity to steal a gun from one sleeping body presented itself and Nora took it. He stirred while she fumbled with the holster and almost did wake up before her, but with a small sniffle, he was practically back to being dead asleep. Now she needed to sneak over to the nearest horse, a Morgan and hope that he would let her ride out with being bucked off.

* * *

“You found her?” Lem shouted. He let out a long sigh after finding the revolver he gifted her a while back and worried for the worse, seeing as she never left without it.

Cripps turned the corner and was leading Casper, but there was no Nora near. They both shared an equal look of concern before going back to searching the area in the likelihood of her showing up somewhere but they had searched thoroughly for what felt like hours. Lem was in denial of something happening to her, he didn't want to accept the probability of certain danger and yet she wasn't around to account for her safety. 

“We'll find her kid, she knows how to handle herself.” Cripps said but Lem didn't believe a word of it. She was tough and a good fighter but she could remain so stubborn on times.

“What a-about her bolt action?”

“She didn't remove it from the saddle.” Cripps answered with regret. Lem let out a quiet sigh, taking a hesitant step out of the clearing as if reluctant to accept that she still wasn't here after all the evidence suggesting otherwise. 

Cripps placed a hand on Lem's shoulder and gently steered him back to the road, all the while keeping a hand tightly closed around the reins for Casper. They didn't say anything more to each other as they mutually agreed to not dwell on the uncertain severity of the situation, although it upset Lem that they couldn't find her, he did know that dwelling on her negative possibilities weren't good for anyone.

Cripps turned towards Lem and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Remain hopeful, for her sake.”

* * *

She didn't feel safe to mount the horse and gallop away just yet. Although she was far from the drunken mess of a hideout they found themselves in she still worried about being caught from the noises made about the horse fleeing the scene. Surely they would notice a missing animal and come looking, but they hadn't and it unsettled her deeply. Was this a part of a plan? Toying with her, thinking she had really escaped when in reality they were only playing a cruel game. 

She wanted to collapse to the floor and sleep, her exhaustion finally catching up with her but if she passed out here then someone would definitely find her. 

She got as far as the river which put a greater distance between them and gently she mounted the animal, kicking him into a gentle trot just to get further away. Nora looked back over her shoulder often, barely keeping her eyes front and slowly that house they kept her at became nothing but a dot in the distance.

Nora didn't think she could make it back all the way to where her camp was, not tonight and the nearest town was Valentine which even then she didn't think she could make it that far.. not in her current state.

Her eyes grew heavy and she felt herself slipping from the saddle, almost falling to the floor. Nora pushed, silently pleading for something or someone to help her in this state, she even hoped for Lem to miraculously appear before her... in fact, Nora never noticed just how much she really did miss Lem until now.

By some miracle, she did cross paths with someone on the trail and the timing was convenient enough that when she did fall from the saddle he was there to catch her. Nora tried to stay awake, tried her best to focus on him but eventually her consciousness had slipped from her grasp.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my dear friends @journal-of-an-outlaw and @bucketofcowboys on Tumblr for taking the time to beta read this for me. Please be sure to go check them and out and give them a follow, some of the loveliest people I have met here.

“Easy now.” His voice was gentle and calming. Nora rested comfortably in his arms and while it still hurt for someone to touch her flesh he did it so softly she almost did not notice.

“Arthur?” She croaked, her voice sore and the male nodded slowly.

“Albert, don't suppose you could help me get her up onto the back of my horse there.” 

She couldn't hear what the two men spoke about and she startled when this stranger moved her. Unlike Arthur, he was not gentle in his actions and she almost cried out from the pain that shot throughout her body at his harshness. Arthur scolded Albert on it once and while he was more careful in what he was doing, there was no drastic difference. 

“You hold on, Nora.” Arthur told her, but the words fell upon deaf ears and she almost fell off the back of his horse when he spurred her into movement. 

They rode at a gentle pace and even though they barely moved along the trail she still held on for dear life, fearing that a fall from the horse would injure herself further after all that had gone on.

She wasn't sure how many cuts or bruises she had left from Colm and was afraid to look and see. She was grateful to not be bleeding as much, but hell, did everything hurt.

“What happened to you, Nora?” Arthur demanded to know, the stress obvious in his voice as he nearly shouted

She was too weak to talk at length but she managed to let his name slip in a gasp. “Colm.”

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed when he caught the name and turned quickly to face his original companion. Albert looked just as concerned as Arthur was despite having no idea on the severity of the situation with the O'Driscoll's being involved. 

“Mr. Mason!”

“Yes?”

“You head on back to wherever you were stayin', I need to take my friend here back home.. keep an eye on the roads and if any nasty lookin' people jump out, shoot them.”

Albert seemed displeased with the instruction but nodded reluctantly in agreement regardless. He shot Arthur a quick look, the worry apparent in his eyes at the almost lifeless Nora. “Farewell, Mr. Morgan.”

* * *

Lem paced back and forth in the campgrounds, the mud under him worn down so the ground was no longer level. He didn't listen to anything said by either his own Aunt Maggie or Cripps. No matter how hard they tried to calm him down from his worry he paid them no mind and continued to fear the worse for Nora.Even Marcel who wasn't particularly fond of the Fike boy had spoken with him a couple of times before giving up and passing over a bowl of stew that was left uneaten.

His pacing wore on Maggie's nerves and eventually she aimed her cane just behind him and shot into the tree, splintering the trunk. Lem jumped back, looking at his aunt in dismay. 

“What the hell?” He cried out but she only gave him a stern look in warning.

“Pacing isn't going to do anythin', Lem. You're only getting on our nerves.”

Lem was bewildered at the harshness in her tone, choosing to ignore his Aunt and not argue back to her.

He left the camp to sit on an old rock near the roads, wearing a brave face no matter how much he wanted to break down and cry.

Cripps got up to speak with him but Maggie held her cane out to stop him, instead choosing to steer him towards the table to sit down. She slowly lowered herself into the seat opposite and leaned forward to speak quietly that nobody else could pick up on her words.

“If she's dead make sure to ease him into it. Tellin' him bluntly ain't gonna help.”

“She ain't dead, Maggie.” Cripps sighed. “How could you say that?”

“JB she's been gone for days and the only thing any of you found was a gun and a horse, she's unarmed out there and you know what she gets like. You don't know if she's dead or not.”

“And you don't know, Nora. That woman's been caught in an explosion because of your nephew and got out fine.”

Maggie's expression didn't falter; she held that same harsh gaze. “Just don't go giving him false hope.” She left the table soon after and, using her hand, waved for Marcel to come back with her to the moonshine shack.

Even though It was the simplest conversation it left him mad. Cripps got up from the table and ignored his former admirer's warning, approaching Lem as he sat sulking. “She'll be fine.”

The sound of twigs snapping brought Lem and Cripp’s attention and both men turned to look over at the tree line, in time to see one angry face marching towards them. 

“Shit.” Lem whispered under his breath as he stood up.

“Hello, Morgan.” He greeted, although rather reluctantly, but she shot him one mean glare and he bit back on his tongue.

“You gonna tell me what happened to Nora?” She bitterly asked, crossing her arms and standing firmly before him. He ignored the question and turned back towards Cripps, pointing a finger towards her.

“This is a friend of Nora's, Morgan Canaday.”

“I'll be leavin' you two to talk.” Cripps said as he began to slowly back away, uninterested in getting involved with this new trouble Lem had been found in.

“So, where's Nora?” Morgan asked again but this time she spoke a lot more slowly.

“We're l-lookin' out for her.”

“Like shit you are, if anyone was really puttin' in the effort then she'd have been found already.” Morgan growled slightly at the eye roll he gave her and leaned forward, intimidating him enough so that he backed away from her.

“Listen, you better pray for your sake that Nora is fine, Fike.” She sneered. Any words Lem had were caught in his throat and he could only manage a small squeak to reply. Morgan nodded slowly but the tough exterior never faltered.

“You know where I'll be if you need anythin', but you make sure she gets home safely, understand?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Good.”

Morgan disappeared amongst the trees again and when she was far enough gone Lem was finally able to let out a long breath. “Fuck.” He mumbled so nobody could hear before returning back to the camp where everyone else waited.

* * *

The journey was a lot longer than anticipated but it was what should have been expected given the slow pace Arthut travelled at. Eventually, they returned to Shady Belle with Nora still breathing.

“Abigail!” The man called for as he dismounted. Nora swayed back and forth, ready to fall but Arthur reached forward to lift her off of the animal. Abigail came marching around the corner and gasped the minute her eyes set on Nora as he carried her towards the plantation house. , She turned back towards John who had been following and whispered something incoherent that Arthur couldn't hear.

“What the hell happened?” She asked, but Arthur simply shook his head as he didn't know.

“Found her this way, Abigail. Said it was Colm.”

“You're kidding, right?”

“Afraid not.” He sighed. “I had to take her here if the O’Driscolls were involved.”

Abigail nodded and waved Arthur to follow her indoors. John had already set up a bedroll near the fireplace and the piano. Hosea stood waiting for them with Miss Grimshaw, an equal look of worry on both their faces. 

“Arthur, you leave the women and come talk with me about what happened, John- take Charles and try and find Nora's posse...tell them she's with us.”

“Yes, Hosea.” Marston left the building and Hosea took Arthur upstairs to talk in private, not wanting to disturb Susan and Abigail.

“Want to tell me what happened?” Hosea jumped straight into the questioning as soon as they entered Arthur's room and he had to raise his hands defensively to show that he wasn't the one in the wrong here.

“I found her out on the track like that- she mentioned Colm and that was all she could say.”

“So Colm's going after Nora now, I mean, he and those bastards go after anyone they can get their hands on but she seems… bad.”

Arthur nodded. “If it was a robbery, she'd be dead.”

“Or lucky. Knowing that girl, she's lucky.”

There was a subtle chuckle that escaped from Arthur's lips but he quickly silenced it out of respect. The door to his room swung open and stood there was Molly O'Shea, her hair dishevelled and barely kept like it usually was. She looked worried and Arthur quickly prepared himself for a long speech about how much she loved Dutch and how he began ignoring her again but instead the Irishwoman gazed up at Mr. Morgan, sharing an equal amount of worry as him. 

“Will Nora be okay?” Her concern confused him as Molly had never spoken about Nora before and for her to be talking about someone that wasn't Dutch was surprising. Sure, they had chatted briefly but he figured Molly was too much ‘high society’ for the likes of Nora.

“I don't know, why don't you go downstairs and-”

“And deal with Abigail and Susan?” She cut in. “No thank you, they'll look down on me and shoo me away without hearing what I have to ask.”

“I'll go down and check for you, Miss O'Shea.” Hosea, not wanting to be involved, suggested and she nodded in thanks as he disappeared down the stairs. Molly sharply turned back towards Arthur and he felt an unfamiliar sense of dread wash over him.

“She's a sweet girl, Arthur.” Molly said quietly.

“I weren't aware that you thought so fondly of her, Miss O'Shea.” Molly's jaw fell open in offence at his words but she quickly closed it, biting back an angry remark and his thoughtlessness.

“I think highly of most.” Molly gave him a gentle nod before pushing away from the doorway. He listened closely until he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore and decided that now would be as good as time as any to return back downstairs to check over Nora, see how she was doing. He didn't get too far before Susan placed a cold palm flat against the man's chest, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“I just wanted to see how she is doing, Miss Grimshaw.” He said.

“She's fine, but you can't come in here.. none of you men can if I can help it.”

“How bad was she?”

Grimshaw let out a low sigh as she waved Mary-Beth over, silently telling her to tend to Nora while she conversed with the man. “It's similar to how you were.”

“When?”

“When Colm sent his men after you, too.” She finished. Arthur let out a hiss and the memory, even though he didn't like to dwell back on it.

“She'll live right?”

“Always with the question. I don't know if she'll survive, Morgan. Ain't nothing infected but… time will tell. Us folk ain't lucky.”

“Keep her alive, Susan.” He warned, exiting the old house through the back door so he wouldn't have to cut through the same room where Nora rested. Susan's lips pressed into a thin line and she shook her head gently before returning to Nora's care.

* * *

“And Lem?” Arthur knew she would ask about him soon enough. Other than saying she felt significantly better it was practically the first thing she had said; she loved that man.

“What about him?”

Nora slowly pushed herself up, groaning as pain flaredin her sides. She grabbed it gently, thinking the pressure would help ease the ache, but there was only so much a hang could do. 

“Do you know where he is? Or how he is?”

“I don't know. As soon as I found you I took you here.”

Nora nodded gently. “I gotta go back, see him.” She tried to stand but barely made it off the floor.

“You’ve gotta rest some more, Nora.” He said kindly but she knew it was more of a command. She pouted slightly but wasn't feeling stubborn enough to argue further, reluctantly agreeing with Arthur who chuckled lowly at her.

“Charles and Marston have been sent out to look for your group. I'm sure Lem will come back with them.”

“He's definitely going too.”

“I'll leave you to get some rest, Miss. Take care.” Nora looked up at Arthur with a gentle smile as she watched him walk out of the room. From beyond the window she noticed how he talked with someone, whispering in their ear and pointing back towards her.

* * *

“Where is she?” 

Molly was surprised to see Lem and she gently pointed over towards the house where Nora rested, knowing it could only be her that drew him to Shady Belle. He nodded curtly and hurried inside the derelict building.

He didn't need to go far. She was right by the fire with her back towards him. Nora didn't notice the door opening, her focus solely on the flickering flames in front of her.

“How are you feeling?” At the sound she jumped. She turned around quickly with wide eyes, surprised and yet happy to finally see him again after so long.

“I'm just happy to see you again, Fike.” She chuckled. 

“I'm happy to see you again, too.” He sank down to the floor with her, sitting just a few feet away. “God I was w-worried about you.”

Nora let out a quiet sigh, averting her gaze over towards the wall so he couldn't see her cry. He heard the sobs regardless and shuffled closer, placing a palm on her shoulder. She still didn't look over at him but could feel Lem's gaze burning into her. 

“I really should have listened to you, Lem.”

“You had no idea what was g-gonna happen.” He squeezed her shoulder gently. “I don't care about that. I'm just happy you're alive.”

“You're too good to me.”

He shrugged. “You saved me.”

She finally looked over and when their eyes met she offered him a kind smile. He leaned forward and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, a gentle peck and it was over no sooner than it started but Nora still flushed a bright red after it, flustered by the kind action. She often found herself unsure of what to say after any show of affection but this time she managed to splutter a small “thank you.”


	23. Chapter 23

“How are ya?” Nora looked over and her face dropped when she noticed it was Arthur returning for the umpteenth time that day. She sighed but gently patted the floor beside her, inviting him for a seat. She wasn't ready to talk about it, not so soon but the longer she kept what happened suppressed the more it began to affect her. The countless nights where she would wake up in a cold sweat, the nightmares not only from those days when Hixon was after them but also with the memories of the suffering she endured that night.

“What do you wanna hear?” She asked, reluctantly. Arthur pursed his lips into a thin line. Now that she was going to talk he wasn't so sure what to have her start with.

“I guess, why? Why did they take you of all people?”

“Because I started helpin' you.” Her words shook him, how coldly she said them was so harsh and regretful and it almost frightened, Arthur.

“How would Colm now that?” Nora let out a shaky breath, turning away so he couldn't look at her once the tears began to fall.

“Kieran... Colm took him in and tortured the poor boy. That's how he found you where y'all were hidin', how he found out about me.” She exclaimed.

“Do you know what happened to Kieran?” The topic was no longer about what she went through and she let out an exhale of air, glad to be off of the subject of her and onto the O'Driscoll who had disappeared some weeks before.

“Colm didn't say but the grin on his face tells me that the poor bastards dead. Do you really think Kieran could sneak away from them?”

Arthur nodded slowly, he didn't want to admit his inability to save Kieran's life just as he did so long before, but it was true. There could have been no way Kieran survived such a thing, he wasn't Arthur or Nora. “Do you know where Kieran is? Or, what's left of him?”

“Afraid not… Colm didn't even outright say that they killed, Kieran.” 

“That's unfortunate.”

“More than that.” She kicked at the ground underneath her, hissing a little at the flare of pain that sparked from the simple interaction and Arthur quickly sprung forward-thinking it more serious than she'd admit too.

“You okay?” He asked.

She waved him away. “Yeah, forget that everything hurts over nothing.”

“Be gentle, Nora. Before I send Grimshaw or Abigail in.”

Nora chuckled lowly. “They're fine, it's Lem who I'd not be able to bare.”

“You don't mean that.” He hummed but Nora only shrugged, gently. 

“Kinda do, don't get me wrong he is my best friend but, I don't know… he worries too much about me.”

“Ain't nothin' wrong in that.”

“I know. Last time he cared so much about someone he ended being betrayed when shit fell under, I don't want him to hurt in that way again.”

“Do you plan on betraying him?”

Nora let out a guffaw when she realised just how bad her phrasing sounded and quickly she had to reject that idea, not meaning it in that way. “Oh no, heavens no.” And he too chuckled.

“I'll send him in any way, he's been meanin' to talk with you.”

“Alright, but you don't gotta stop people from seein' me.” Arthur snorted but left the room anyway, holding the door open to be courteous and let Lem inside. When Fike was through the door he greeted Nora with a proud smile and the female felt her cheeks warm slightly from making eye contact with him. 

“Hey.” He managed to slip out but he stood at a distance, awkwardly drumming against the pockets of his jacket. Nora gave him a forced smile but called him over with a gentle wave of her hand which he obliged to. 

“You alright, Lem?” She asked, her face fading into concern as he kept himself drawn back. He never was one to keep a space between the two, neither was she in truth, so when he blatantly refused to walk over she grew worried.

“Y-Yes.” He kept to the one-word responses.

She raised an eyebrow and struggled to stand, her breath hitching in her throat while she ignored the ache and mixture of pain just so she could walk closer to Lem whose attention was now drawn her way when he heard the struggle in her breathing.

“Nora, don't!” He tried to warn, quickly running to her side just in time to catch her before she collapsed to the floor. Nora hissed at the force but was grateful it was only his arms she fell into and not the solid wood beneath her.

“Guess I ain't got the hang of walkin', yet.” She chuckled, attempting to lighten the situation but he appeared less than impressed with her.

“Worryin' a-about you is gonna be the death of m-me, Nora.” He whispered, moving around so one arm was wrapped around her waist and the other was making sure she didn't fall to the side. But Nora still tried to laugh off just how bad of a state she really was in and shrug away his concern like she usually would do.

“I ain't kiddin'.”

Nora let out a huff of air. “No, I know… I just hate to see you so, glum.”

“Can't help it, especially not recently.”

When she was put back on the old rug she had been sitting on before, Nora reached forward to tug at Lem's shirt to stop him from walking away, acting in that usual childish manner and he couldn't help but let a small smile slip. “What now?” He asked.

“Just stay, please.” Nora pleaded. Lem only rolled his eyes but pulled an old chair over to sit near her but she shuffled over regardless and gently laid her head down on his lap, and with no hesitation, he had placed his hand on top and ran his fingers through her hair. It was something that he could do for hours before, to be curled up with Nora under a tree somewhere while he would either run his fingers through the tangles in her hair or gently braid it.

“You're like a child.” He joked and Nora let out a low unladylike snort at his remark, her hand patting his foot in response that he could only smile at which she didn't see. He was just happy to have that old girl back, for the most part.

“I do act it on times.” She sighed, leaning further into his touch while his fingers gently continued their brushing of her hair.

Lem had been so caught up in making sure that she was okay that he had forgotten to mention how Morgan visited them, demanding to know what had happened to Nora and threatening him all in that same process. So gently he tapped her shoulder to grab her attention and she turned around just as much as she could to look at him.

“I just remembered that your friend, Morgan Canaday paid us a v-visit.”

“She did? What'd she want?” Nora looked surprised as she hadn't spoken to Morgan for a few months, the last she heard from her was just after Hixon.

“She heard about what happened to you.” He answered. 

Nora sighed, turning her gaze over towards one of the windows in the house. They were in Bayou Nwa which meant Morgan wasn't too far from them, they could make it a quick trip just so Nora had the satisfaction of telling her old friend that was was okay. “We should see her tomorrow.”

“I don't think-” Lem wanted to argue, but Nora shook her head to shush him. 

“Trust me, if we don't see her soon then she'll think that I'm not okay. Then we'll have murder.”

“Nora, you can hardly stand.” Lem reasoned and she knew the facts, nodding gently to agree with him.

“Please.”

Lem drew out a long breath of air before agreeing. He knew Morgan would bring hell and Nora hadn't seen her friend for a while, so who was he to stop her from going?

“I can't stop you. But if at anything bad happens to you we're comin' back. Okay?”

“Okay.” Nora said. “So… it's settled then?”

“It's settled. We'll head out tomorrow, find Miss Canaday.”


	24. Chapter 24

One of the biggest obstacles was getting outside of the house and to the horses without stumbling over her own feet. She refused to have Lem assist her, always shaking his arms away when he tried to support her the rest of way.

“Nora look at you,” Lem whispered while they snuck past the campfires where the men lay restless but she completely ignored his words as she limped the rest of the way to the horses. 

He wasn't surprised by her stubbornness, at this point ‘stubborn’ became her middle name and one of her most notable traits but god did he wish she would stop and listen every once in a while. Or at least stop acting as if all was fine and take proper care in this condition.

“We're leavin' on your horse, right?” She sighed nearing the familiar animal who appeared more than happy to see the girl after so long. Nora dug in her satchel and revealed an apple which she was more than happy to treat the horse too and Lem simply chuckled at the display.

“I don't see Casper around,” Lem remarked and she realised just how stupid her question was by his answer.

“Right, that was silly of me to ask.”

Lem pressed his finger and thumb together and mouthed the words “a little” which earned him an eye roll and a huff. 

He grabbed her waist gently and slowly lifted her onto the rump of the horse, wincing at himself when she let out a hiss at the contact. “Shit- sorry.” He cried but she waved him off in understanding, hell he was only trying to help.

He pulled himself onto the saddle and when Nora nodded gently to say she was ready to continue moving he urged the horse into a gentle trot down the roads. He didn't want to go too fast or too slow and Nora didn't show any signs of discomfort or pain while they rode at this pace so he kept it going for the time being and where Morgan usually was wasn't too far from the plantation house, it'd take them a few hours at most.

* * *

“Where she usually at anyway?” Lem turned behind with that usual cautious glance, giving his companion a small smile while she kicked at the dirt beneath her. Her hand was placed flat against a tree trunk while she inspected an unusual spot of dirt that became distressed over time.

“She ain't necessarily anywhere. Morgan does move around often in the Bayou.” She sighed, combing her hair back with a shaking hand. “We may find her, she may find us… it depends.”

“You're shakin' an awful lot, Nor.” He brought it up but she, as usual, dismissed it and limped further into the trees. Further from the road. 

“Nora.” He cried, hitching his horse to the ground and following Nora into the swamps. 

She waded through the water, not venturing too deep and keeping her hand on the banks to hold herself upright. In his head he cursed at her, a string of swear he would never dream to say out loud while Nora so carelessly continued further. The alligators were one problem, as were the nightfolk and in her state neither would be an easy win to come across.

“What are you doing?” He cried out, watching as she staggered out of the waters and onto the banks. An old house he recognised all too well sat adjacent from him, underneath it the rotting carcass of an alligator. The building put him at an unease so seeing her sneak into it added to the discomfort tenfold.

“Seein' if she's in here.” She finally shouted back to him.  
He rolled his eyes and quickly followed behind, almost tripping a couple of times when his foot got stuck in a patch of unsettled mud. 

“Please s-stop runnin' off from, me.” He said once he was close enough to her. She greeted him with an innocent smile and a playful wink and his heart fluttered at that moment and he caught himself unable to process what she had just done, not until she was limping away again.

“You're d-deliberately annoying me.” He sighed.

Nora shrugged slowly before stopping in her tracks and when she turned around to meet that same scared look from Lem she knew that the unmistakable shriek she heard wasn't in her head.

“Isn't i-it early for nightfolk to be out now?” Lem whispered.

“They come when they want.” She took hold of his hand and slowly began to walk back towards the horse where Lem left it. Their attention was on high as they both scanned the area to keep an eye out for the notorious gang, scared beyond belief.

They sharply turned around when they heard a twig snap behind them but there wasn't anything there but there was still plenty of movement in the bushes around for them to feel free of danger and unfortunately for them both, they left Shady Belle completely unarmed. 

“Keep moving, N-Nora… don't look back, darling.”

“I'm movin', I'm movin'.” She chuckled lowly. She couldn't go any faster even if she wanted and unfortunately, the muddy water was only slowing them down a lot more than they wished at this time.

When they were finally out of the swamp they let out a collective sigh of relief before walking the rest of the way over to the horse. However, it seemed that the two were being stalked in the swamp when a loud shriek shook through the trees and from the bushes one lonely, unmistakable nightfolk came charging towards them.

Whoever he was had his hand raised high, a machete grasped tightly in his fingers and when he was near he brought it down at an alarming speed, had Lem not pushed Nora back and moved than one of them could have been hit and who knows how bad the damage could have been.

Nora let out a yelp as she fell to the ground and it caught Lem's attention enough for the Nightfolk to get the upper hand on him; pouncing on him and trying to bite. Lem fought as best as he could but he was no fighter and it was more a test to see how long he could hold his head back.

“Lem.” Nora tried to speak but it felt as if her chest was being crushed from the impact of her fall. She tried to crawl to his aid, tried moving but the pain was far too great to let her do anything.

He felt his arms begin to give out from the weight of the stranger on top of him and the more it struggled the closer he got to hacking away at the poor man but it felt like all else was over a loud gunshot rang out and the stalker fell limp on top of him. Dead. Lem quickly pushed him off and sat upright, looking to his right to see a silhouette on horseback with a gun held high in the air. The sun prevented him from seeing who it was that saved him but there was this presence of familiarity around them that he could not explain.

“Oh shit.” He whispered when he remembered Nora, who was still lying on the ground struggling for her breath. He clambered to his feet and ran to her aid, holding onto her gently to help her back up. She put on a brave face and held back the tears but for the most part, she appeared to be okay.

“How the hell did you two get caught by one shit from the Nightfolk.” That voice was unmistakable of one Morgan Canaday and as she rode closer to the two of them it was clear as day that she was their saviour. 

“Hey, Morgan.” Nora said breathily and the woman looked over with a fond smile before shooting Lem a harsh gaze.

“Let's get you two out of the swamps and quickly before you get attacked again.” Morgan said although rather bitterly. 

“Thank you.” Lem gave her a thankful look as he lifted Nora, putting her on the back of Morgan's horse this time instead of making her work the short distance to his own.

* * *

Morgan lit a few candles to provide light in the small space they had moved to. “So what the hell happened to you out there?” Morgan didn't bother easing into the topic and wanted to hear of what had happened to her friend.

“It ain't nothin'.”

“Maybe we should drop the t-topic… Nora don't like talkin' about it.” Lem interjected and Morgan let out a growl with his cutting in on the girls' conversation, it was enough for him to shut up and allow them to continue.

“Well?”

Nora let out a sigh. “Colm O'Driscoll resorted to capturing and beating me because I started helpin' a gang he dislikes. That's all.”

“Shit.” Morgan rolled her eyes at Lem's curse and she leaned closer towards Nora. 

“Could've been worse, you could be dead right now,” Morgan added but it didn't make the matter any better and she was only met with an air of awkward silence. 

“Nice goin'.” Lem spat, lighting a cigarette just after a few minutes. Nora leaned back and frowned while Morgan and Lem stared down at each other with both hatred and something else mixed within it. Something Nora couldn't pick up on. 

“You two should get goin' before you get ambushed again, they're not as kind durin' the night and like to travel in groups.”

“W-We are aware, miss.”

Morgan let out a small snort as her eyes followed Lem and Nora out of the door. Nora in front, while Lem lingered behind for a moment when she was near his horse and out of earshot the woman quickly grabbed his shoulder to stop him from moving.

“You make sure nothin' happens to her again, Fike.” Morgan hissed and the male took in a sharp intake of air at the threat. When she realised he had nothing to say back she let his shoulder go and gently nudged him down the path where Nora stood waiting and she watched with that same hard look she notoriously had. Lem didn't waste any time to get them ready and had Nora on that horse in a matter of seconds before mounting up himself and kicking his horse into a gallop down the roads and when he was gone amongst the trees Morgan let out a groan of frustration. 

“She falls for the worse ones.” She said to herself before returning indoors and out of the humid air.


	25. Chapter 25

Upon their return to Shady Belle, Grimshaw had forced Nora back to her corner to continue resting and wouldn't allow her to be sat alone without any supervision from one of the gang members for fear of her deciding to sneak away again. Nora didn't mind the company when it wasn't Bill or Micah but the days where they were forced to accompany her were one of the worse days of her life.

But after a few days of constant rest she was back to the old Nora they all grew to adore, walking fine and functioning free of any stiff movements. She still had a few scrapes here and there from that unfortunate night that wasn't completely healed but the stinging was manageable. 

“Do you really have to go?” Mary-Beth asked as she followed behind the two as they prepared the horses for leaving. Lem's own horse was more than happy to finally leave Shady Belle but Branwen, who Charles asked Nora to take with her, did not want to leave so soon without his owner.

“Unfortunately, I have too.” Nora turned towards Mary-Beth and gave her a sympathetic smile. “Cripps has been left with my brothers for a bit too long, which is never a good sign.”

“Well ride safe, Nora… and don't get yourself caught by any O'Driscoll's again, please.” Nora chuckled at Mary-Beth's words and waved goodbye as she walked back down towards the house. When the other girl was gone did Nora finally turn towards Lem and Charles to help them with the stubborn horse. 

“I don't think beggin' the poor creature is gonna help, Lemuel.” She joked, leaning against one of the hitching stations. 

“It worked with Casper.”

“But Casper likes you, Branwen hardly knows anyone who isn't Kieran.”

“What do suggest we do then?” He sighed.

“Just be gentle.” Nora approached the stallion and gently placed her palm flat against the horse's muzzle. She half expected the horse to pull away but instead he only leaned further into her palm and let out a huff of air.

“He likes you,” Charles said.

“Most things do.” Lem returned before whistling his horse over. He looked at Nora for a moment and this sad look washed over his face, something that Charles raised an eyebrow to when he acknowledged it.

“Reckon he'll let you ride him?”

Nora looked over at the men and shrugged slowly before walking around to the horse's side. She would pat him a couple of times before mounting up and waiting for the horse to buck her off but he had accepted the new rider with no problems and Nora let out a long celebratory cheer.

“We have an answer.” She answered. With his job practically finished, Charles left the two of them and all that was left was for them both to leave but Nora was hesitant in doing just that.

“You're gonna be fine, Nora.” Lem called and she agreed, although rather reluctantly. 

“Come on, when we get back I'll have Cripps make you a ‘Cripps special stew’ how's that sound?”

“Sounds lovely.”

“Come on then.”

* * *

“She's alive!” JB Cripps cheered the minute he spotted Nora coming in and she smiled towards him

“Hello, Cripps.” The older man ran towards the pair and Nora was barely off of her horse before he had pulled her in for a hug, very happy to finally have her back. Harry and James even rushed over and praised Lem for keeping her safe, which was very out of character for the brothers to do.

“Glad to see those two ain't killed each other yet.” Nora pointed at her brothers as they stood with their arms crossed near the group's tents.

“They came close. Poor Maggie Fike had to help with that.”

“What was so bad that you needed to get help for?”

“They had a knife fight in Valentine, nothin' too serious fortunately but I had to get Maggie and Marcel to pull themselves from each other.”

Lem gave Cripps a quizzical look, a bit curious to see how on earth Maggie, his aunt, was able to pull anyone off of someone with how bad of a state she was in. “How exactly did Maggie do that?”

“She didn't exactly separate the brothers, but she did almost shoot one of them with her cane.”

“Sounds about right,” Lem said before leaving Nora and Cripps to enter the groups camp.

“How are Maggie and Marcel anyway?”

Cripps wanted to mention how little hope Miss Fike had for Nora's return but chose that such a topic shouldn't be brought up and kept amongst the adults, but he forced a kind look and patted her shoulder. “They're good. Missin' you so you should go visit them soon.”

“I had plans too anyway.”

“Well, I won't keep you too long, it's great havin' you back though.” With that, Cripps left Nora to stand alone and instead of her brother's greeting her just as Cripps had done they simply regarded her with a subtle nod before leaving.

The only person Nora did enjoy talking too was Lem but he looked like he didn't want to be bothered any longer, sat at the campfire with a big frown on his face and so she only did the next best thing she could do, walk to her own tent and read a book for a few hours until something interesting was brought up for her to do.

* * *

“Hey, Maggie has a request for you.” Lem leaned into her tent, his hand planted on the rod that held the opening up and she smiled at the news of being needed for work so soon. Honestly, she was happy to finally be back on her feet so soon.

“Lovely,” Nora said in response, pulling herself from the cot and walking with Lem in tow over towards the horses. Casper let out a whinny when he saw Nora approach and she felt this surge of happiness well up inside her just from being reunited with her beloved horse.

“You may need this too.” She turned around and in his hand was the same schofield revolver he had gifted her before, the one she thought to be lost when those O'Driscoll's attacked her.

“God I got so upset when I dropped this.” She exclaimed as she took the weapon from his hands and holstered it. “It's a gun but damn it means a lot to me.”

“Does it?”

Nora nodded. “Of course it does, my best friend got it me.”

Lem's face only sank at her kindness and he looked away to hide the shame. She arched an eyebrow at the reaction and opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong but Lem only let out a long breath of air before saying his farewells and leaving her to get on with that business his aunt had prepared.

Nora watched as he walked away, turning towards Casper and shrugging as if the horse had asked what his problem was before mounting up herself. If he was in a better mood later she would ask him about it then, at least, if he was willing to talk.

* * *

The smell of berries and smoke from the basement was a pleasant surprise as she entered the shack. She welcomed it with a fond smile, lingering above the staircase just so she could continue smelling it longer.

“Nora, it's nice to see you alive and in one piece.” Maggie stood in the doorway, her cane held in front of her as she leaned against the doorway. Nora gasped in surprise and recoiled from the bannister, looking over at Maggie with a slightly annoyed expression. 

“Y-Yeah, don't gotta scare me though.”

Maggie chuckled and turned around, hobbling back inside the room and expecting Nora to follow her. “I got an easy task for you since you've just come off of bed rest from what my nephew told me.”

“How easy?”

“If you can taint stills without gettin' caught, then easy. Sneakin' in and out'll be challenging though.”

Nora nodded as she took a sealed envelope from Maggie's hands that she handed over. “Lem asked me to give you this. Told me to tell you to not open it, at least, not until after you soured the rivals batch.”

“Why couldn't he hand it to me himself?” She asked as she tucked it away in her satchel, patting the bag gently following.

“I don't know.” Maggie walked around the desk and took a seat in the usual spot, giving Nora a proud grin as she leaned forward. “Fortunately for you, the rivals ain't too far.”

“Where too?”

“Butcher's creek.. nothin' you ain't dealt with before.” Nora nodded and headed for the door, pushing it open but not getting too far out before Maggie had called her back. She leaned into the room but was still halfway in the process of leaving, waiting for Maggie to say what she needed to add. “It's great to have you back, Nora. Didn't doubt you returning for a second.”

“It's great to be back, Miss Fike.”

* * *

She couldn't recall stealth ever being this hard or herself being this rusty at anything ever before, perhaps it was the time she had spent away from any action that faltered her skill or maybe she was just not good as what she previously thought.

“D'you hear somethin'?” One person asked once she took a step too far forward, snapping a twig. Nora gasped and quickly hid amongst the bushes and crates, praying the shadows concealed her enough as the guards came to investigate the noise.

“You were probably hearin' things again, Lyle.” Another replied but the one she alerted still looked around the area suspiciously. 

“I don't know… seemed too real.”

“How the fuck-” The other guard let out a long groan and Nora found amusement in the frustrations she could relate too from living with her brothers. “you know what, I ain't dealin' with you today.”

“Whatever,” Lyle replied. He had inspected the area as best as he could and still missed Nora hiding there, walking away in annoyance with the false acceptance of his friend being right.

From what she could see there was only one vat set up which meant that as soon as the guards were gone she could sneak over, taint it and run; in and out. It seemed simple but they were not moving and Nora did not want to deal with killing two guys all at once, with her brothers this job would be a lot easier and she wondered why she didn't ask them to accompany her.

She lost count of how long she had been sitting there but eventually, one guy did walk away and from behind it looked like that ‘Lyle’ fella who had almost caught her earlier and so when he was far enough away she crept over, keeping an eye on the last guard who had his back to her and briskly poured in the mixture Maggie had concocted. Now, she just needed to get out of there.

She backed away, keeping her eyes glued onto the guard and when she felt she was far enough away she whistled for her horse. Unfortunately, it did alert some more people who were in proximity but they assumed it to be someone whistling while on the job and they chose to pay it no mind.

She couldn't mount up and gallop away, that would most definitely bring over some curious people but Casper was a good horse who followed his owner closely. There were a few huffs here and there and the one whinny but they were able to sneak far enough away from Butcher's Creek for her to pull herself back into the saddle and allow the horse to take her away.

“Let's go home, Casper.” She said, patting the horse's neck and urging him forward in a gentle trot. With the slow pace they moved at, she reached into her satchel and pulled free that envelope Lem had his aunt pass on. It was a little crumpled from being tucked away but wasn't ruined too badly and using her hunting knife she tore it open to pull out the letter. 

When she read the note her heart sank and she could not believe the words penned on the paper. She had to pull on Casper's reins to get him to stop moving, still struggling to process what he couldn't talk to her about in person. A stray tear rolled down her cheek and she let out a sob once it all kicked in. Nora didn't cry when the O'Driscoll's attacked but what Lem had said did get to her.

“I still… I still have time.” She said softly, amidst the tears and spurred Casper into a gallop, diverting the route to Emerald Station where she presumed him to be. Maggie couldn't travel too far and that train station was the nearest to their moonshine shack, so it would have been the only logical spot they could go.

* * *

Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Marcel helping Maggie onto a train carriage, Lem standing behind them with that same sullen face from earlier with Cripps only a few feet away. He was the first to spot her and the guilt kicked in the minute the recognition kicked in, but he couldn't bring himself to apologise; Nora didn't stay long enough to let him as she dismounted and ran to Lem's side.

“Lemuel!” She called and he froze in place. Maggie gave Marcel an awkward glance before having him move faster inside, not wanting to deal with this situation or be caught up in it.

“What's goin' on, Lem?” She asked but the male didn't answer, he only forced himself to finally turn around and face her and the consequences he brought upon himself from keeping as big a secret like this from his best friend.

“I-” All words were lost in that moment and he found himself incapable of offering an explanation even though she so desperately sought one.

“Nora, I gotta go.” He tried to deflect the situation itself and worm away but Nora didn't him too, she needed him more than either realised.

“Lem, you can't go- not yet.” Lem turned behind and looked as though he was contemplating something in those moments before he let out one final sigh, his decision had been made and he wasn't sure when an opportunity like this would arise again.

He dropped the suitcase to the ground and his hand moved to cup her cheek, his thumb wiping away some of the tears that began to fall.

Lem's head tilted softly to the side before he finally leaned in, closing any space between them as he finally caught her in a kiss and her arms froze awkwardly by her side, unsure of what to do with them or what to do with herself in this situation. But this was something Nora had wanted to do for oh so long and when he finally initiated it she didn't want to lose it, so gently she kissed back.

Minutes that felt like hours passed by before Lem did eventually pull away, his hand still on her cheek and now his forehead resting against hers. “I'll be back eventually, Nora. But there's s-something that I need to do first, that Maggie needs me for.”

“I wouldn't be upset if you told me what it is.” She whispered and Lem looked just as upset when she said this. He wanted to explain himself, but Maggie had given him strict orders not too, not even he knew the full extent of the reasons for their leaving. 

“I have to go.” He didn't stick around too long, gathering what he had and pulling away from the girl. She stood there on the platform, watching as he boarded the train carriage and when he was finally inside and at the seats where his aunt was, did he look up and wave goodbye, still waving as the train pulled away.

The train was long gone as well as any sign of the Fike's but she still stood on that platform, holding onto those final moments shared Lem. Not willing to let them go.

“How long did you know?” She asked Cripps as she felt him creeping up behind her and he stopped dead in his tracks at the hurt in her voice, it feeling like a shot to the heart.

“Maggie asked me a couple of days ago, but they been planning this for a while now.”

“Christ, It's stupid of me to be upset over this isn't it?”

“Not at all.” Cripps placed a hand against her shoulder and gently squeezed it. “I was upset when Maggie an' I didn't get married.”

“You walked out on that, that was your fault.”

Cripps nodded slowly. “I know, was jus' trying to be helpful.”

“It helped a little.” She sighed.

“Come on, let's go home.” Cripps pulled his hand away and walked over to the wagon he drove over, leaving her to join him or ride back by herself when she was ready.

She stood for a minute longer before dragging herself over to the wagon, taking Cripps' hand as he helped her up. Casper was left untethered but she still whistled regardless so he could follow behind them.

“Cheer up, Nora. Maggie can't stay away for too long so they're gonna be back eventually... just gotta be patient.”


	26. Chapter 26

“Lem are you done moping?” Maggie asked and it brought him from a daze and back into the real world. The words didn't register straight away and he blinked a couple of times to make heads and tails of what she had just said and when the realisation kicked in, his face sank back into that frown. 

“Yes.” He lied and it was so blatantly clear that he wasn't telling the truth. Maggie rolled her eyes and looked away.

“There is no point in sulking about Nora, Lem,” Marcel said and it only caused this bitterness to rise inside Lem who was far from pleased at the tone Marcel had taken, it was as if he was trying to scold him simply for missing his friend.

“Forgive me for missin' her.” With that Lem rose from his seat and pushed past his aunt who looked concerned at her nephew suddenly wishing to leave, however, she held her cane out in front which halted him in his tracks.

“Where are you headed?” She asked.

“Whatever car the bar happens to be in and if not there then anywhere else.” He stepped over the cane and continued down the cars, careful when moving between each.

With her nephew now gone she turned back towards Marcel and let out a long sigh. They both shared an equal amount of frustration at Lem's attitude this evening but silently dealt with it, it was a topic that had no right to be discussed now that the man in question was gone.

* * *

“Why the long face, son?” Lem looked at the bartender once she began talking. It was this soft-spoken female who looked down at him with such a warm smile that it immediately distracted him from leaving Nora. He cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened his posture.

“Had to leave someone I really care about.” He wanted to keep it vague but hearing it all back made him realise just how much of a dick he was, simply because he left without a second thought. Hell, all Maggie had done was say they needed to leave and he agreed with no hesitation.

“Well if you had cared about them, why'd you leave?” The bartender said and he frowned. God the question stung to hear.

“Guess I didn't care as much as I thought.”

“Perhaps you didn't, son.”

Lem finished the whiskey off and slammed the glass down on the bar with such force he was surprised it hadn't shattered in his hands. The noise caused most of the patrons to grow quiet and look his way, even that kind lady stopped polishing the glass to look his way. “I- Sorry…” He pulled away and left the bar car, he had drunk enough that hour regardless and didn't need anymore. 

He slowly walked back through all the cars to get to where his aunt was, but standing upright made his head dizzier than it needed and walking was even more of a struggle paired with his bad leg.

Along the way, he ended up walking into someone who had wrapped their arms around Lem to stop him from collapsing then and there from less of momentum and through foggy eyes did Lem spare them a glance, frowning when he recognised that same face from Marcel. “Come on, let's get you back to your aunt.” Lem was surprised that he didn't get a telling off for returning drunk, he also didn't expect Marcel to actually take his arm and walk him back instead of letting him struggle on his own but he appreciated it regardless. 

“Oh, what the hell's happened to him?” Maggie cried when she spotted her nephew. Her anger went unnoticed by the two men as Marcel tried to lay him down on one of the empty benches but Lem was being far too stubborn to cooperate, rolling around and flailing his arms.

“I think it is fairly obvious, Madam Fike.” Maggie simply frowned at Marcel's sarcasm and ushered him away from her nephew who had stopped his unnecessary rolling and had managed to remain still on the train bench. She frowned as she looked down at him, but the guilt was so painfully obvious in his eyes.

“Get some sleep, Lem.” She instructed and although Lem pouted like some child he still listened and followed suit with what was told.

With her nephew sorted, Maggie turned around and faced Marcel with that same frown often worn and the distiller did nothing but shake his head in disappointment. “What are we going to do with him?”

“For now we just need to hope he forgets about her. She ain't worth it and he is clearly distracted.”

Marcel nodded slowly, returning to sitting and waiting out the rest of their train journey in uncomfortable silence. Save for the soft snore coming from Lem's way.

* * *

It was switching trains which was a hassle. With Maggie's leg, she couldn't walk very fast or at all without any pain surging up within her so having to try and push themselves to the earliest train was a hassle. They weren't in any particular rush, but Maggie didn't like to hang around for too long, especially with the knowledge of revenue agents still out on the hunt for the Fikes.

With luck, they were able to catch the last train leaving that day for Chicago, just before it had set out and through a rush, Maggie made sure to usher her nephew inside before them, there wasn't a need as there was no Nora or secret lover around that he needed to kiss goodbye.

“Why are we headin' all the way to Chicago again, Aunt Maggie?” He asked, she was very vague in explaining the reasons for their leaving and every innocent question was met with a glare scolding him for being nosey and a warning not to pry into matters that were not meant to concern him. Maggie opened her mouth to spout the same nonsense before Lem cut in before she even had a chance. “I think you draggin' me along concerns me enough to know, Maggie.”

“We brought you along because you would likely end up dead out there, Lemuel.” She retorted. 

He let out a quiet sigh and Maggie believed that was the end of it. “I wouldn't. None of 'em would l-let it happen for your sake.”

“By ‘them’ you are referring too-”

“Nora, mostly… but also Cripps and maybe not quite her brother's.”

All it took was for her name to be brought up and Maggie recognised just how deep the boy had foolishly fallen. She had the same the exact same thing in herself all those years ago when she and Cripps were involved with each other. 

“For this trip, Lem, think you could do me a favour?”

“What i-is it?”

She gave him a sorry look. “Don't mention, don't think, don't talk about the Morgan siblings.. especially Nora.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’ Lem… get over her because it'll do you know good holding on. No good.”

He didn't like this, he didn't like it at all and he wasn't so sure how Aunt Maggie expected him to just forget about Nora so easily. It was practically impossible given how much she was such a positive influence for him, hell he stopped spending so much time around his aunt and the moonshine shack and willingly adventured more just for the excuse of being close to her and now all that was gone, stripped away and Maggie expected him to just let it go. It was that conversation that made him feel sick, all over a girl.

When Lem had found a seat the first thing he had done was gaze longingly out of that window and do the exact opposite of what his aunt told him, ‘don't think about the morgan sibling's… especially Nora.’ it rang in his mind but that was all Lem did. He never got along well with Harry and James most of the time, so it was easier to forget those two but that didn't mean he didn't have a few good times, like Cripps' birthday where they had all sat around the campfire indulging themselves with whiskey until the early hours and Nora's smile for the majority of that night. She had a beautiful smile he always though, but very rarely could he see one so genuine. Sure she would smile often but that night there was something so captivating by her joyous expression, but maybe that had been the whiskey taking a toll on them.

If he weren't so blindly loyal he would get off this train and catch the next back home, or wherever was closest… but it wasn't that easy, not for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit rushed and was written during a bad week so quality wise, it may not be the best. But, regardless I hope you enjoy this one anyway.. the fic may be a bit sporadic in parts and the progression may be slow with the direction I am hoping to take too.


	27. Chapter 27

“Got anythin' coming up, Nora?” Cripps lurked outside the tent with a small smile, he could see her through the crack in the tent, lying on her cot and sulking the hours away just as she had done these past few days. “Any jobs or such?”

“No.”

“Well, surely there is something you can do… why not help your brothers out on a job?” It was a simple suggestion but the thought alone caused her to groan loudly, it wasn't that a job scared her but working with her brothers was a nightmare.

Nora pushed herself from the cot, pulled the tent flaps aside and gave Cripps a stern glare. “I don't know if you've met Harry an' James, but working with them is stressful.”

“I know but it gives you something to do… but you look awful.” 

“Point out the obvious, I feel awful so please let me be.” She tried to close the tent flaps again to shield herself away from the others but Cripps wouldn't let her this time and held it open, just to keep talking.

“You got to do something to keep occupied, Nora.” He tried pleading but this was only another excuse to keep her from moping about camp and bothering him.

“I'm keepin' myself occupied plenty.” She said, rather bluntly.

“How the hell are you keeping occupied while holed up in here? There's not a lot to do.” His question was simple but it caused Nora's face to turn a shade of red and when she failed to come up with a response he realised just what she implied. “Oh, I really didn't want that image.”

“You asked.”

“Not that, oh christ… look, for that alone I want you to help them with a bounty for my sake, please.”

“Shouldn't have asked questions, JB.” She let out a long sigh. “Just give me a minute and I'll go with them. Make sure they don't leave without me.”

“Thank god.” Cripps trotted off with a gleeful expression and she rolled her eyes at his mock joy before concealing herself in the tent to get dressed in cleaner clothes in private.

* * *

“She still has that bounty huntin' passion, I see!” Harry exclaimed once he saw her exit her tent, dressed in the same old clothes she would used to wear on their old jobs. She grinned all the same, firmly patting Casper's neck.

“So who we going after boys?” James dug into his satchel and pulled free a poster he had taken from a bounty board, handing it over for her to analyse herself. She narrowed her eyes to read the print and drew out a shuddered breath, oh she had heard this name before.

“Gene again?” James nodded to answer her question.

“We turned in him last year, how did he get out?” Nora continued her questions but the boys didn't mind and they were all able to talk while riding. She followed behind them, they knew the way to this outlaws new location better than she did.

“Apparently some friends thought it'd be a good idea to cut him loose. Killed about half the lawmen in town unfortunately and he got away, couldn't stay low for too long and already started the same old crimes once again. Wasn't long before we caught up with him.”

“They never learn.”

“Yes well, we ain't ones to judge them on their criminal ways.”

Nora laughed lightly. “Oh, I know this, brother.” With that said they rode out in comfortable silence, picking up speed on their adventure to get to this new spot quicker than what a small trot would take them.

Gene Finley never did travel far from Lemoyne it seemed and given that the Van Der Linde gang were now occupying Shady Belle it wasn't like he could drive them out and take it back himself, no, that would get him killed for sure. So instead he settled for the next best thing, what had been left of Braithwaite manor; now reduced to an ashy ruin.

Nora expected there to be some people left but the place was practically abandoned now that there was no Braithwaite's to be left, it didn't surprise her in the slightest and was almost nice to see the area empty instead of infested with those same parasites that lurked there before. Oh, how she hated the Braithwaite's since her run-in with them.

“Can't believe he chose that old shit dump as a new gang location. The place ain't gonna help 'em.”

“It's smart because ain't nobody there no more.”

“Yes, I suppose that is true.” She spurred for Casper to go faster and she ended up taking over Harry who let out a splutter of curses that he was now trailing behind.

* * *

Nora's Hungarian halfbred stopped just short of Braithwaite manor, bucking wildly now that they were so close to the ruins of the old house. Nora struggled to dismount but she didn't wish to be thrown off of the horse because it had been spooked by unknown forces, perhaps the ghosts of the Braithwaite's were what had Casper in such a frenzy.

“Ain't never seen Casper so startled,” James called out, hitching his horse just near with Harry copying soon after. She nodded too, it being quite peculiar for the beloved stallion to act up in such away.

“He'll be fine. Probably got startled by a snake.” She excused on his behalf before passing him an apple, cautiously reaching for his mouth. Her brothers watched with a smirk painted on their faces but they dropped it slowly as Nora managed to calm the animal, both sharing an astonished expression at how in control of her animal they didn't believe she actually was. “Right, let's go grab Gene "Beau" Finley, shall we?”

* * *

Nora crouched down behind one of the old pillars that decorated the exterior of the house, keeping her rifle ready while she watched some guards, as she presumed them to be, march back and forth the ruins. A couple of times Nora, as well as her brothers, were close to being caught but they managed to hide themselves just enough to not be seen.

“Harry.” She whisper-shouted to call him and he crept closer just as instructed. 

“What?”

She pointed towards her left, giving him a firm stare. “You and James head that way, Gene's down there if you notice… we can cut him off from those sides, he can't go anywhere else from there.”

“Well, he can go West but whatever.”

“Into the fields. There's not a lot there beside a few crops. A lot of it's died out by now, not been looked after since, well, this assault on the manor.”

“Yeah.” He pulled his sawed-off shotgun from its holster and with a subtle flick, beckoned James to come over. He whispered to his brother a “come on,” before disappearing with him behind the rubble.

She pushed herself off of the pillar and followed along the porch, cursing silently when the boards would occasionally creak beneath her weight. Eventually, Nora had managed to move closer towards the bounty in question and quickly hid behind one of the walls and listened closely for any plans the group may have coming up; in case the opportunity for a bank robbery was to present itself then maybe she could drag the boys out on that too.

On the other end of the garden, Harry and James had split up to cover different parts around the land feeling that sticking together wasn't going to be beneficial in any way. Their sister probably wouldn't be happy with this branch from their original plan but that was an argument saved for later, their new one was significantly better. 

They waited for no signal, once everyone was in their eyesight they aimed their guns and began shooting. Careful to avoid their target as they fancied being paid in full but also showing no mercy for anyone else who had associated themselves with Gene, it was strictly business what they were doing.

Nora swore loudly at the bullets flying around. In the moment she was worried about her brothers and poked her head just above the wall in time to see Harry and that stupid yellow coat run straight into the group so he could grab the bounty and in a short time, James trailed behind him providing cover fire. She sank back down and leaned her head back, wondering what possessed her to think this was a good idea. Nora worried but at the same time, she was pissed.

“You boys are so reckless, aye!” Nora cried as she jumped from her hiding spot, taking her revolver from the holster and aiming from the hip at some men who ran past.

“Testin' you to see if you still had what it takes to fight,” Harry called back, tackling a guard to the ground and punching him a couple of times to save him from being shot.

She rolled her eyes at the reply before shouting back “I do, it's called common sense,” something that he didn't look too pleased with hearing.

“Really funny.” He said back. She looked his way with a smile but it dropped when she saw him collapse to the floor with blood staining the bright yellow of his coat, she looked back at James worried who hadn't even noticed his own twin fall to the floor.

“Focus on Harry, I can handle the rest of them!” James called out and quickly she rushed to her brothers' side, already fearing the worst.

He was rolling around in agony but was very much alive and that was relief enough that she hadn't lost her younger brother. She gently slapped his other arm and scolded him for his recklessness before helping to move him to a safer location where he wasn't lying directly in their small battlefield. 

“He's alive... but I swear I'm gonna kill him.” She told James who looked over-worried. 

One guy was left but seeing as all the other hired bodyguards had been killed he opted for the best alternative and that was to flee the scene. He didn't make it very far, as Nora was tired of fighting today and wanted them all down to guarantee that they could return Gene to his cell, so she raised her gun and fired a bullet into his back and then another to make sure.

Gene "Beau" Finley coward in the remains of Braithwaite manor but slowly crept out towards the siblings, his hands raised high in defence. He would still laugh at the same time, impressed with how effortlessly it seemed they had dealt with the situation but there was no joke behind it.

“You three are good.” He complimented. Nora shot James a look and he nodded at the silent instruction, taking his lasso out and hogtying the bounty without a second thought.

Nora walked over to her other brother and took his arm over her shoulders, pulling him to his feet. He groaned at the pain that flared up and she made a small comment about understanding it, feeling almost sorry for him as she did so but he didn't hear what she said. “James., Nora called.

“What?”

“Think you can take Gene to Rhodes? I think Harry shouldn't dawdle around much longer.” James nodded to answer as he carried the target over towards his horse and when he was gone she turned towards Harry with a frown.

“This is what happens when you do things with no plan, Harold.” She said calmly. Her brother mumbled something but she didn't hear what he had said, knowing him though it was probably some sarcastic remark about how her plan was stupid anyway.

She whistled for Casper and he did the same for his Annabelle.

When the horses were near she helped Harry onto the rump of Casper before she mounted the horse herself. He still seemed very agitated by being at Braithwaite manor but it took a few firm pats and he had calmed some, now she just needed to get him far from the ruins.

* * *

“Cripps!” Nora shouted, her voice sounding a little shaky while she did so. It took him a minute but he sauntered on over with a sheepish smile plastered on his face. It dropped however, when he noticed the state her brother had returned in.

“What the hell happened?” His question was worthless, he could see as clear as day what had happened and there weren't any other explanations otherwise.

“Jus' help me get him to his tent.” She mumbled and he nodded slowly, helping him off of the horse and onto his feet. He didn't wait for Nora and was more adamant about getting him to the cot to take a look at the damage, assess just how bad it could be.

“Think you got this, Cripps?” She asked him once she made it to Harry's tent.

Cripps nodded slowly as he had him peel away the bloodied coat and shirt. “Yeah, ain't nothing too serious luckily.”

“Well, let's hope it teaches you a lesson Harold.” She said, although it was more of a joke than a warning.

With the sun setting and the tent getting darker, Cripps lit a lantern so he could see better while he worked on bandaging the wound and once she was certain that her brother was left in safe hands she left them to themselves.

Her tent was farther away and while she got closer she could hear the idle chatter from the two fade out until it was nothing but a dull murmur in the distance. 

She pulled the flap aside so she could walk in but stopped herself when she heard a rustle in the bushes nearby. She thought it was an animal and so waited, expecting a fox or a bunny to jump out and attempt to help itself to the group's food… but the more the rustling got closer the more a shape could be made out amidst the shadows and trees and it was far too big to belong to a small woodland creature. 

It groaned with every step taken and she pulled her revolver free from the holster, raising it with caution while this shape moved closer towards her.

Nora took a few steps back while it drew closer and she aimed her gun with a steady hand, ready to shoot if need be. Eventually, the shape stepped into the light and she could see the bloody remains of a man who was just barely alive, grasping onto his breath with what he had left.

She took in his face and the recognition kicked in, from the same scared look and “puppy dog eyes”. There was no greeting between them before his legs gave way and he collapsed forward, but she was able to react just in time and catch him before he hit the floor.

She picked him up as best as he could, cursing out loud with the question of where James could be to help them.

She got him stable before looking back over towards the boy's tents, shouting over the quiet. “Cripps…! Cripps, it's Kieran!”


End file.
